Gregor and the War of the Myriapods
by Tytonic
Summary: Its been 4 years since Gregor left everything behind him, but when Luxa's upcoming marriage and a new species is discovered, Gregor Must return. Will Luxa be forced to wed a man she doesn't love, and will this new species be the downfall for the humans? Only time will tell! Rated T for language and lots of violence. (Gregor X Luxa) (OC X OC)
1. Chapter 1: His Life After

**Hello people of fanfiction! I am as you can tell a new writer on this website. This is my first fanfiction, so please don't hate. If you don't like the story, then simply don't read it. If you find any errors whatsoever (I'm new, so expect quite a few) feel free to notify me of them and I will do my best in order to fix them for future readers. If you have any suggestions, then please, I encourage you to notify me of them, so I may improve my story, and make it as enjoyable as possible for all readers. I will also be doing this thing that I have seen other writers incorporate into their pieces of writing. I have no clue what its called (tell me if you know), but it is were at the beginning or end of a chapter the characters are talking to the writer about what happened in that chapter. I may not be able to describe it very well but at the end of this first chapter, and then in many chapters to come you may see it. Well all feedback is greatly appreciate and encouraged, I wish to make the most of my time on this website, and I need your help to do so.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland Chronicles or any of the characters, they all belong to Suzanne Collins**

**Until next time,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Gregor and the war of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 1: His Life After**

Gregor kissed Luxa good-bye and climbed out into the park. Then she backed down a few steps and they held each others gaze until Gregor's dad slid the rock in place, parting them forever.

_4 years later. . ._

Gregor shot awake in bed, suddenly aware of another being in the same room. He attempted to use echolocation to identify this being, but was met with a blank image. Weird, this has never occurred before, his echolocation was very reliable, and always returned an image to him under reasonable conditions, and this was a quiet, dark room, the conditions couldn't get any better, so why wasn't it working?

"I know your here, show yourself before someone gets hurt" said Gregor, clearly with a hint of concern in his voice.

He was blind, completely blind, he had no way of knowing were this completely silent and potentially dangerous being was.

"Oh do you?" said a voice from somewhere behind Gregor.

"I don't think you do" said the voice, somewhere to Gregor's side.

Gregor head a slight shuffle behind him, and spun around just in time to take a hit right in the face, knocking him onto the ground. In Gregor's daze, he could see a large white rat, perhaps 12 feet tall, holding the limp body of a very large, completely black bat.

Gregor attempted to scream the bats name, but no words came out. The worlds slowly became a blur, a started to melt away. Gregor started to become aware of a falling sensation. He was falling, falling down and down farther into darkness. He attempted to scream the bats name again, but all he could manage was a weak whisper. "Ares". The sensation continued to increase, he was gaining speed, and eventually he had to hit something, right?

Gregor head a vague voice in his head, He could hardly determine what it was saying.

"Don't call out to him warrior, he will not come." said the voice

"He will let you fall, fall forever into oblivion" whispered the voice, slowly getting louder.

After what seemed like an eternity, Gregor couldn't take it any more, he was on the brink of insanity, he couldn't tell how long he was falling but it seemed like days, maybe weeks. He could take it, he was going mad, the sensation of falling was to much, it became forceful, like he was being pulled down, and eventually painful. All but moments form insanity Gregor heard the voice, but it was different, he could hear it clearly, and he knew who's voice it was.

"Your light is all but gone, now die, and suffer forever in the depths of hell!" screamed the voice.

It was that voice, the voice, the one he so dearly hoped to hear once again, Just it wasn't happy and joyful like he remembered, it was mad and filled with rage and fury. It was _her_ voice, the girl he loved, his first and only love. It hurt more then any physical pain he has ever felt, hearing her words, all her anger, rage, and hatred directed towards him. Gregor wanted nothing more, he no longer wished to live, he just hoped the ground would seal his fate.

As Gregor fell, he became draped in sadness, as he welcomed the ground now entering his sight. The ground drew closer, and closer yet. He welcomed the surface, as his body became yards away, then feet, now inches. As the body was about make contact with the ground, Gregor shot up awake in a cold sweat. Every muscle in his body was as stiff as a rock. Gregor's breathing was very rapid, going in short small breaths. He tried to calm down by taking long, deep breaths, and it helped, but only to a very small extend. His hand scrambled over the dressers top, looking for it. When he found it he just stared at it, and then held it against his chest as his breathing slowly returned to normal.

It was a picture, the picture of _her_. He still had it, after 4 long and painful years, the picture they took together, in the museum. Gregor never let it leave his side, he always had it within feet of himself, and he never showed it to anybody, though it was very clear to others that he cherished it deeply, though no person accept his sister Lizzie knew what the picture was of. He looked at the picture in most all of his free time. Only this picture and the music from the Ipod touch he got for his birthday 3 years ago kept him from slipping away into insanity. He remembered the times they had together, the fun and sweet times.

"No, I can't, I shouldn't think about it, I'll never see any of them again, I'll never see _her_ again, I shouldn't dwell on it, it only makes the pain worse." Thought Gregor.

Gregor looked at his alarm clock, it was 7:43 his alarm would go off at 7:45, school started at 8:15, so he had to get ready. Gregor got out of bed, he wasn't tired whatsoever, that nightmare was like 20 cups of black coffee, waking him up right away. Once he slid out of bed, he opened up his dresser, and picked out a gray shirt with black pants. He grabbed his watch and strapped it on, then threw his backpack over his shoulder. He walked out into the living room, and into the kitchen, ignoring his parents, like he did everyday.

"Good morning Gregor" said his mom, looking for any expressions on his face. He showed none but misery, and he doesn't remember showing any other expressions aside from misery for the past 4 years. He walked into the kitchen his mom trying to talk to him still.

"Gregor you can't just walk away like I don't even exist! Get back here" said Gregor's mom, a sharp tone of anger in here voice.

Gregor just completely ignored her, as far as he's concerned she isn't even there. He went over to the coffee machine and grabbed a cup of coffee, it had a small amount of cream in it. He poured it into a paper cup so that he could throw it out later at school. He walked out the door and into the crisp cool Virginia air. They had moved to his dads family farm around 3 years ago, about 2 months after Gregor left _that _place. Everybody in Gregor's family had argued against his mother on the matter, they didn't want to move whatsoever. Despite the arguments and fights Gregor's mom won over, they had no choice but to move. Grandma died a month before the move, otherwise they wouldn't have waited an extra month to move.

Gregor turned to his left and started up the street, heading to school. He could have taken the bus, but he liked the quiet thinking time, it was only a 15 minute walk anyway. Gregor continued walking down the street, while listening to his Ipod. About 10 minutes into the walk he took a right. And a tall kid with black hair and blue eyes stepped out of his house and walked up to Gregor. This kid was Gregor's only friend, Alex, and even then he was only a guy that he talked to from time to time, and not really much more.

"Yo Greg whats up! Hows it going dude?" shouted Alex.

Gregor gave a slight nod to show that he was fine, even though it was obvious the the entire world that he was far from fine.

As they pasted the next 2 houses a girl about Gregor's height with red hair and brown eyes stepped out and ran up to the 2 boys practically leaping at Gregor.

"Hi Alex, Hi Gregor!" said Zoey, using a flirty voice when she said Gregor's name.

"Hey Zoey" said Alex, clearly more joyful that she was there.

Zoey was one of the most popular girls in school, she was friends with everybody, and almost every boy in the school had a huge crush on her, Alex is one of them.

"So Gregor hows it going?" asked Zoey, still using her flirty voice.

"good" mumbled Gregor, in a scratchy voice. He never really talked much so the disuse of his vocal cords made his voice constantly scratchy.

"So Gregor, I was wondering, you wanna do something tomorrow, like see a movie or something?" asked Zoey, seeming very hopeful.

Gregor stayed silent for a few moments and then said "Sorry cant, I promised id take Maggy to the zoo tomorrow." responded Gregor, it was clear that even though Zoey could chose almost any boy in the school, she always liked Gregor.

"oh, well, umm, if you ever want to do something just give me a call" said Zoey, seeming very disappointed.

Gregor and his friend finally reached school, seeing that they were a few minutes early, they went to their lockers to get to class early.

As Gregor and Alex went to their locks (which were next to each other) Zoey went to hers which was in another hallway, Alex said "What the hell man? I mean what the hell? You just got asked out by the most popular girl in school and you say no?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Sorry" Mumbled Gregor

"No man, tell me why you said no, tell me"

. . . . .

"Tell me! Tell me and I'll leave you alone! What are you gay or something?!" Yelled Alex.

Under all of Gregor's stress, and then this, he finally snapped. "You wanna know why?! You really wanna know? I left someone back in New York, I left _her_ back there! She is the only girl I ever loved, and the only girl I ever will!" Gregor yelled at Alex, while taking out his picture of _her_ to calm him down.

Walking up behind Gregor and Alex came Max, the school bully, always doing drugs, stealing, and beating kids up. Max looked at the picture over Gregor's shoulder and snatched it out of his hands.

"Who's the bitch? Look at her, she's so ugly? Who has purple eyes and skin that pale? She's a freak! I guess a freaks perfect for you freak." said Max, clearly trying to piss off Gregor.

Zoey walked around the corner, seeing Max, and 4 of his friends surrounding Gregor.

"Gregor!" shouted Zoey, in a very scared voice, the last person to fight Max went to the hospital for 3 months.

"Stay back you whore! Your little boyfriends about to get it!" shouted Max to Zoey, who was starting to cry.

"Give me the picture and nobody gets hurt" said Gregor, now practically steaming.

"Whoa! It actually talks! Now why don't you come get it?" said Max, encouraging Gregor to fight.

Max started to laugh, turning around to say something to the group of witnesses gathering.

"You see? This little wimp is to scared to fight!" said Max, telling all the students how much of a wimp Gregor was.

As Max turned around, his eyes widened as he saw a fist coming strait for him. Gregor Impaled him in the nose, breaking his nose.

"You little bitch!" screamed Max, throwing a left hook at Gregor.

Gregor swiftly slid to the right, and grabbed Max's arm, slamming it onto his knee, thus breaking it at the elbow.

The other 4 boys quickly charged Gregor when they saw what he did, Gregor jumped up kicking one in the side of the head, knocking him out. When Gregor fell to the ground, he kicked the legs out from another, and then brought his face up to meet the guys face as he fell, on impact, the kid was knocked out. The other 2 looked at each other, and both pulled out 8 inch knives. They both clumsily charged Gregor, trying to stab him anywhere possible. Gregor simply grabbed both boys wrists and twisted, breaking each boys wrist, but instead of letting them go at that, he kicked each one in the stomach knocking both out.

* * *

**Zoey's Pov**

* * *

It was so scary, seeing the boy you love get confronted by 5 guys, all with the intent to cause great physical pain. I was crying so much, the tears coming out of my eyes like a waterfall. I tried to look away, I didn't want to see it, but I couldn't look away, I just couldn't. When I saw Max turn around I prepared to see the worst, but it never came, Instead I saw Gregor take out 5 guys in less then 10 seconds, 2 of which were armed with 8 inch knives.

When I saw this I almost fainted, I just saw him do _that_?! From what I could see, he did it all for a picture of someone he loved. . .

This hurt more then seeing Gregor take down 5 guys, the fact that he has no feeling whatsoever beyond friendship for me. I felt like crying, if that's even possible considering I'm already crying.

* * *

**Gregor's Pov**

* * *

Gregor finished with the 5 bullies, and walked over to the picture, and picked it up, slipping it into his pocket. He knew how much trouble he would get into, but he didn't care, he couldn't stand the kids in this school, he had to get out of there, he just had to.

Gregor started to walk away, and Zoey clearly saw this, and she ran up to him.

"Gregor, are you ok, do you wanna talk about it?" asked Zoey in a very concerned tone.

"No, I don't" said Gregor.

"Well, okay, umm, were are you going?" asked Zoey

"I'm going home, see you later" said Gregor in his normal raspy voice.

"Are you sure? Are you ok?" asked Zoey, still very concerned.

"Just leave me be" said Gregor as he walked out the school doors as the bell began to ring.

Gregor knew what was going to happen, he knew how much trouble he would get into, and he even ignored the teacher yelling at him from the school.

"Gregor you get back here this instant! You don't know how much trouble you getting yourself into!" yelled the teacher after Gregor.

Gregor knew very well just how much trouble he was getting himself into, though he didn't care whatsoever, Gregor was going home, he needed to be alone, he just needed time to think.

* * *

**And that's a wrap on it guys! I hope you enjoyed! Please Rate and Review, all feedback I encouraged and appreciated. I don't know when the next chapter will go up, but I will try to get it up as soon as I have time. Now for that thing I described at the beginning of this chapter.**

**R & R peeps!**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Tytonic- *clickclickclick* and that should just about do it!**

_***Poof!***_

**Gregor- Whoa what the crap? Were am I? Who are you?**

**Tytonic- I'm the writer of this story.**

_**explains the situation to Gregor**_

**Gregor-well I guess that explains all this, but if its true when can I go to the underland?**

**Tytonic- oh shut up, I don't even have to send you there if I don't want, I can do anything I want to you and you cant do a single thing about it.**

**Gregor- you wouldn't.**

**Tytonic- try me, the next chapter is with Luxa's point of view. And I can make anything I want bad or good happen to her, she's 16 right? Well the council is trying to force a husband onto her, she can only resist for so long, so I suggest you don't complain.**

**Gregor- don't you dare, or else**

**Tytonic- well considering your a rager, I'm just gonna send ya back in were you will not be aware of this conversation.**

**Gregor- NO don't you dare! *Swing a right hook at Tytonic***

**Tytonic- *clickclickclick*well see you later Gregor!**

***Gregor warps back in just before punch connects***

**Tytonic- seriously, I've gotta find a way for him to control his anger. . .**

**Well tell me what you guys think of the character interview thing!**

**See you all later!**


	2. Chapter 2: Her Life After

** Hello and welcome back to my lair, people of FanFiction! I have very much enjoyed making this story so far, and I think chapter 1 went far better then I would have expected. I read better writers stories and one of this first things I think of is how much better their story is, but then I think, and I realize that they to had so start somewhere, and from there you can only improve. So I am hopping for the stories sake, your sake, and my sake that I improve as a writer, and thus make my time on fanfiction more enjoyable for all of us. Thanks to The Toast Ninja for being the first to support and review on my story so far! It is because of this review that I decided to post this Chapter today, I was originally planing to post a chapter every sunday or so, but then I realized thats just not how I work, I go through periods of time (like the past 3 days) that I want nothing to do with writing, especially when at school Im working my butt off in writing class, but still doing terrible in that class. Ok so back to the story, I am going to try to do this chapter in Luxa's point of view, so tell me what you think about that, good, bad?So as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated! See you all at the end of the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, though I wish I did, I do however own Alex, Zoey, Max, and characters yet to be seen.**

**Until next time,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 2: Her Life after**

* * *

Luxa kissed Gregor good-bye, and backed down the steps. Luxa and Gregor held each others gaze, reading each others emotions, until the rock was slid back, and they were separated forever.

_4 years later. . ._

Luxa was struggling to keep her eyes open, she hadn't slept in 2 days, thus making her eyelids lead weights. She had managed to sleep about an hour earlier that day, but that wasn't near enough. Luxa, being queen, has always been very busy, especially since the war of time, were she gained many, many responsibility, it felt like the entire world was against her. The fact that she was turning 16 in a months time didn't help either, being queen meant that at the age of 16, she would need to wed a man, and that man would proceed to become king. After the war of time, the council was rebuilt, and they gained power once more, though Luxa never got a break, since forming a new council wasn't exactly easy. Once the council was finally finished, about a month ago, they had immediately started preparation for Luxa's coronation, and her wedding.

The biggest pain was that the preparations included was the council forcing men onto Luxa, trying to find one that she liked. If she didn't choose one of the men, she would be forced to wed a man of the councils choice. She hadn't liked any of the man, 13 men so far, and she didn't like a single one of them, they were all to cruel, or all focused solely on being king, and nothing else. Not that it really mattered anyway, she wouldn't choose any of them, she couldn't choose any of them, her heart was already taken, and it had been for the past 4 years, by a boy that she would never see again in her life.

Luxa found herself thinking of _him, _she hadn't seen him in 4 years, and she deeply missed him. However, she knew she couldn't be with him, that it was impossible, unreasonable. He had probably moved by now, to that place, what was it. . . Virgena? She had tried after he left, to figure out how far away it was, and after many failed attempts she resorted to books from the museum. She had found a map book of the planet while looking, though it took her a very long time to finally find the book, even longer to realize it was what she was looking for. After hours on end of looking through the book she found the place, and once she found New York, she compared them. They were very, very, very far away, around 400 miles, and from what she had previously know, 400 miles is a very large space, much much larger than the known underland.

Why did she even bother, why couldn't she forget him? It had been 4 years, it clear that he will never come back. He's probably moved on, found some other girl to love, and forgotten about the underland completely, forgotten about her.

"Your majesty, are you even listening?" Asked Arthur, a council member.

No, truly Luxa had forgotten she was in the middle of a council meeting in the first place. They were talking about new ways to feed Regalia, having allied with the rats, they had to help and support the rats, this included giving them food, thus leaving Regalia with much less.

"Oh, I am deeply sorry, I seemed to have. . . zoned out in thought for a moment, can you please kindly repeat what you said?" Asked Luxa, trying to hide the fact that she wasn't listening, and it clearly didn't wok very well, because she heard a few other council members chuckle.

"Well I was saying how I think that we cant simply grow more food, it will up far to much land, let alone money. I was proposing the idea that we attempt to find a new type of food, that can either grow much faster, take up less space, or be available in plentiful amounts, such as fish, that are almost always in the river." Proposed Arthur, with a surprisingly good, yet difficult idea.

"That is a very good idea, Arthur, however it would require us to either delve into the unknown dangers of the uncharted lands, or bring out search up to the overland. Both ways are absolutely dangerous and both very risky. I propose that we do both, however we approach them in very different ways than one would expect. We should not delve into the danger of the uncharted lands, rather we should take it very slowly and cautiously, only mapping out little bits at a time, and making sure that no danger awaits us. For the overland idea, I do have a feeling that there may be foods up there that can grow in the conditions the underland provides, I will take to the museum books to do further research, to discover if my theory is correct or not. All in favor of my idea?" Said Luxa, certainly taking the the role as queen head on.

11 of the 13 council members raised their hands, all with looks of confidence on their faces. Among these members Vikus had also raised his hand, well his right hand, due to part of his body being paralyzed from his stroke. He seemed very pleased with how fine of a queen Luxa was becoming.

Luxa, in public, or in the presence of other people held her head high, and had a stern serious, yet caring look, the look a queen should have. However, when Luxa was alone, she would think, and eventually the tears would start to role down her face, as she had 4 entire years of pain and agony built up in her, and she has yet to find something to release it all on.

The council, in the end, had decided on Luxa's idea, though it still took an extra hour and a half to decide this. Figures, leave it to the council to take an hour and a half to agree to an idea that 11 out for 13 people already agreed to.

When the meeting was finally over, Luxa found that she had fallen asleep part way through, though none of the council members noticed, and if they did they didn't say anything about it. She woke apparently 15 minutes after the meeting ended, it was Vikus who woke her.

"I am very sorry to awaken you Luxa, but do you not think it would be more. . Appropriate to retire to your own bed for the time being? This is the longest break you have had in weeks, you may as well get some good rest, you will need the energy later." said Vikus, with the intention of helping his granddaughter get some rest, though he didn't mention the blisteringly obvious fact that she had acquired a very deep wound that would never heal, she acquired this the day he left.

Luxa Headed to her room, though very groggily, she made it there nonetheless, and fell asleep in her cloths the second her head hit the pillow. She could care less that she was still in her cloths, and she could care less that her shoes were still on as she lay on her bed, making it dirty.

Luxa awoke what appeared to be 13 hours later, and by that time it was the middle of the night (I don't know how they know when its day or night when there is no sun, they did in the books so I'm going along with it) and everybody was asleep, or just inactive. Luxa knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, and have another dreamless sleep. For the first couple month since _he _left, Luxa would have horrifying nightmares, and she would wake up in a cold sweat almost every night. After about 2-3 months of this her dreams became dreamless, just nothing, all black, and it always felt like forever when she was in that state, like time passed normally to her.

It was somewhere around 1-2 o'clock in the middle for the night, and Luxa would not be able to sleep once more, so she did the thing she did the only other thing save sleep that she did in her free time, she went to the museum. It took a few minutes to arrive in the large room full of overland artifacts. She would always come here in her free time, it was the only place she could think, and it was the only place that she could find even a remote sense of happiness, and even then it wasn't what you would really call happiness, it was simply not misery, but still very far from even neutral feelings. Luxa went over to the corner with the blankets laid down, the corner were she had spent the happiest moment of her life with _him, _the spot were they shared their first kiss.

Luxa sat down on the blanket, and flicked on the lantern from the overland that he had set up there. The lantern was actually a very good light source, it created a much brighter and larger light than a torch did, and you could change how bight it got. Once she was sitting down comfortably, she took out the stack of so called photo, squares of paper with a still moment shown on the, taken with a weird box that flashes. She started to look through the photos, and as they provided comfort to her, they brought new waves of pain as well. She sat there, looking through the photos for multiple hours on end, and once she first heard other people, she didn't even bother to get up for her morning meal.

Luxa could have sworn she heard her name being called, though she knew that if she truly was being called that they would know were to find here anyways, so why bother getting up if she didn't truly need to? What could be so important that they come searching yelling her name anyway? It probably was just her imagination.

Luxa allowed her imagination to drift a small amount. She could not help the fact that no matter what she did her mind drifted to memories of _him__. _Luxa knew it would only hurt more if she thought about it. She had only ever felt such deep emotions for 2 people, and they were both of her parents. She loved Hazard as a brother, but the connection to him could not compare to her connection with the warrior of her parents. Luxa had been thought of as not normal in the aspect of crying. She had never been able to cry over anything after she lost her parents. She could not even cry over Hazard when he was about from a gash on his head after being caught in a flood during the prophecy of secret. This had been the case for years. The last time she had creed over anybody was when her parents died, but that changed a full 4 years ago. Very few people knew she had creed over him when he left, that she would never be able to see him again. He was the only person that could make her feel so. . . vulnerable, yet safe at the same time. Vikus had approved of their relationship, and he understood how Luxa was crushed by him leaving. Hazard knew she was destroyed on the inside, though he was to young to truly understand love. Ripred knew, and used it against Luxa at times, though on the inside he understood, he had lost his entire family. Mareth knew as well, though he never mentioned it, same with Aurora, she would never bring it up. Howard was the final person that knew, and he always began to lecture Luxa about how it would never work out, though she usually walked away, ignoring his demands that she return to listen,methought when he had her attention, he would always tell her to forget him. Luxa would never be able to forget him, the times she spent with him. She had saved his life multiple times, and he had saved her life many times as well. Luxa allowed the thoughts and memory's to flow freely through her mind.

This is what Luxa had her mind on, and kept her mind on until she heard it again, just this time much louder, she could even hear footsteps as somebody walked down the hall towards the museum.

"Luxa, you must get ready, go cleanse yourself then eat, your training started 10 minutes ago!" said Vikus as he walked into the room, talking before he even saw here, out of certainty that she was in there.

"Luxa, I know that you don't want to go, but as queen its your duty, you don't really have a choice, so come on now." said Vikus, his tone lightening up a bit as he saw her holding onto one of the pictures.

"Don't worry, I'm going, I'm going." complained Luxa annoyingly, as if she was a child being told to pick up some fish from the market.

About 15 minutes later Luxa had cleansed herself, changed, and crammed some food in her mouth. Luxa walked into high hall an whistled loudly, calling her bond Aurora to come fly her to training. Over the 4 years, she and Aurora had grown farther and farther apart, they were now just simply friends helping each other. As Aurora fly down and landed, they both exchanged simple nods, no more or less. This was much different 4 years ago, were they would greet each other happily and go into a deep conversation.

The ride was silent, neither of the 2 talked, and as they approached the arena, Luxa prepared her weapon to jump into the arena from above, allowing Aurora to go strait to training with the other bats. Once they were over the arena, Luxa quickly and nimbly jumped off and drove her sword strait into a training dummy as she came to the ground, thus splitting it in half right down the middle.

Training continued as usual for the next hour and a half, hack slash hack slash. . . Around 20 Minutes from the end of training, Luxa noticed a medium sized brown and wight bat flying over to the arena. Of course since it was training no body cared very much, that was until the bat came crashing down to the ground, dead from blood loss before it could even hit the ground.

As Luxa approached the bat, she could see 2 deep gashes going strait across its back, and a dead human, which the was armless, due to the same gashes, and clearly, very clearly, this was no accident. It was unlike any wound she had ever seen, and it occurred to her, and everybody that saw it, that a murder had just occurred, and by no known creature either. . .

* * *

** And that's just about it for this chapter, ahh I know, its a cliffhanger, and I know everybody hates cliffhangers, but every good writer uses them, this is the best way to keep all of you from just forgetting about this story. So tell me what you though of this chapter, all feedback encouraged, and one more thing, what do you guys think killed the flier and its rider? I'm guessing nobody will get it, not with only a few people guessing, but once I get to, and I say once as to I will, get to many many people, then somebody would be able to guess it. So see you guys once I get the next chapter up!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

***Clickclickclick***

***poof***

**Luxa- who what were?!**

***Tytonic hands Luxa paper explaining everything***

**Luxa- Oh, can we get this over with, I was in the middle of something you know!**

**Tytonic- Sure, once you tell me what you though of the chapter.**

**Luxa- Well it was a little miserable, and the ending was plain gross, I mean what could do that? I know not of any creature with that capability!**

**Tytonic- Well you will find out, you'll find out, patience.**

**Tytonic- Know since I know You really want to find out what happened, ill send you back in, good thing you didn't try to hit me like Gregor did!**

**Luxa- wait what, Gregor is here!?**

**Tytonic- Patience patience, all in due time, see you later.**

***clickclickclick***

***poof***

**Tytonic- All to jumpy, they need to take a chill-pill.**


	3. Chapter 3: Punishment

** Hey guys! It me Tytonic back with chapter 3! I know that I don't have an upload schedule, but I honestly don't want to have no choice but to post on certain dates, I just wanna sit down and write when I feel like it! So I'm sorry I left you guys with a cliffhanger last chapter, but expect more, cause every good writer needs cliffhanger, what else is gonna keep you guys here? Just to tell you guys, the cliffhanger isn't being continued right now, it should be continued on chapter 4. So basically the thing I've been doing, and might keep doing is switching POV every chapter, from Gregor to Luxa, and once they meet up (I don't think I really need to keep the fact they will see each other again a secret, why else would I have both of them in the story?) I will keep it at Gregor's POV, but that may change at different points in the chapter. By the way, if anybody is wondering, meg is boots, she started going by her real name Margaret, and they just call her meg. Also, thanks to The Toast Ninja, ManCatLover, Goddess of Soccer 11, Regina, and ScrumtousToast for reviewing, favoriting, and supporting me as a writer! Thanks to everybody else that has read my story, as of right now I have 110 views! 110 views and it has only even been a week! I got almost half of them Thursday to, so I can tell my story is starting to get around more. Ok so here is the chapter, and as usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated!**

**See you guys later**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters that I added (Alex, Zoey, Max(so far)).**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 3: Punishment**

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"Are you sure? Are you ok?" asked Zoey, still very concerned.

"Just leave me be" said Gregor as he walked out the school doors as the bell began to ring.

Gregor knew what was going to happen, he knew how much trouble he would get into, and he even ignored the teacher yelling at him from the school.

"Gregor you get back here this instant! You don't know how much trouble you getting yourself into!" yelled the teacher after Gregor.

Gregor was going home, he needed to be alone, he just needed time to think.

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_2 days later. . ._

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After Gregor's little "incident" at school 2 days ago, he had gone home and went to bed, or at least tried to go to bed, he had just laid there for hours on end. This is the kind of thing that Gregor did a lot, and just about the only thing he really enjoyed, just sitting, and thinking.

There was one main issue with this, aside form the fact that he was skipping school, is that even though Gregor wanted to to last longer, life didn't care, and his parents got home from work.

His parents both had jobs, and with their combined efforts, they had managed to pull the family out of debt, and up to the point were they could sustain the family much better. Gregor's dad still had relapses from his sickness about 1-2 times a year, and it only lasted about a week each time, so it hadn't effected his new job an 9th grade science teacher to much. Gregor's mom had gotten a new job as a banker in Virginia, and was making decent amount of money an hour.

Gregor's mom always got home around 6-7 pm, and Gregor's dad always got home around 3pm, so Gregor hadn't been bothered by his dad for the entire time, due to the tests he was grading.

Once Gregor's mom got home, she checked the message machine, which Gregor's dad hadn't bothered to check. When Gregor heard the messages starting to play, he knew what he had coming, and he knew he was in huge trouble.

Gregor had gotten Suspended for 3 weeks from school when all 5 of the boys that attacked him had claimed that he had attacked them, I mean how else would 1 kid take out 5 boys? Basically every kid in the school knew didn't happen. Gregor would have tried to claim his innocents, but the fact that he was grounded to his room for the entire 4 weeks didn't help, and since the school didn't tell the kids what happened to Gregor, his friends hadn't know, and couldn't talk to the school about what really happened.

Gregor didn't really care anyway, it was just more time to think. "Well I guess mom is still trying to act like this family is normal, like she thinks that keeping me out of the world is really a punishment, I mean it might be for other kids, but never for me, how long will it take for here to finally give up on trying to fix this family? We are all permanently scarred, I mean meg still talks to cockroaches with weird clicking noises, and not only that but the cockroaches actually listen to her" thought Gregor.

Honestly, how long would his mom keep this up, acting like it never even happened? If you so much as say the word under in this house, there would be awkward silence, and then his mom would change the subject to something that didn't have anything to do with _that _place. She cant keep it out of the family forever, and she has recently started to show serious sign of stress from it to.

Now back to the present and here Gregor is, laying on his bed, doing absolutely nothing, at 5:27 pm. He had been wondering when dinner would be, its usually around 5, even though his mom was only ever there on weekends since she got home around 6:00 pm, so she would get food on her way home usually.

"Gregor, Lizzie, Meg! Come to the table, dinner is ready!" Yelled Gregor's dad from the kitchen.

Gregor slowly and groggily slid himself out of the bed, since he was grounded he didn't get out of bed very often, so when he did his legs were always stiff. Gregor shook each leg a bit to loosen them each up, and them went of to the kitchen. When he got in the kitchen he could see Lizzie and Meg at the table while his dad was serving the food. Gregor sat down and realized that his dad had made Chicken pot pie, he had to admit his dad was getting better and better at cooking.

Once Gregor had finished eating he quietly thanked his dad, and went back to his room, were he assumed he would be for the rest of the day.

As quickly as it seemed, Gregor snapped awake, and realized he had dozed off. He looked at the clock, 8:00 pm, so his mom would be home by now. Once Gregor was fully awake again, he resumed what he was doing, absolutely nothing. You would think that Gregor would have gone insane doing nothing for so long, but surprisingly he didn't, he only became very very patient. So patient in fact that he could wait hours and hours on end before getting bored.

"Kids come to the living room, we need to talk, as a family" yelled Gregor's mom from the living room. He really hoped that this wasn't another lecture on how they had to try to be a happier family, he had gotten sick of those lectures after the 4th one.

Gregor slid out of bed, and slowly made his way to the living room, and preparing for the worst he walked into the living room and sat down on the couch across form his parents. Lizzie and Meg were already seated, though Meg was sitting crisscross on the floor, even though there were open seats.

"So, I have been talking to your father. We don't want to tell you this, but my sister has been killed in a car crash 2weeks ago, and we are going up to maine for here funeral soon" said Gregor's mom, with the look of pain in her eyes.

Gregor felt a small amount of pain over this, but he never really like this aunt anyways, she was very weird, and always seemed to be mean to him. Still, he knew he had to be polite and go to her funeral.

"The funeral is in about 2 weeks, we will be leaving in around 5 days, so we just wanted to let you guys know ahead of time, so that we didn't have to take you out of any plans you may have made" Said Gregor's dad, picking up were his mom had left off.

"Gregor, were going to be gone for about a month, so we give you permission to see your friends, and say goodbye to them, we know you don't want to leave without them knowing were you are." said Gregor's mom, and she clearly didn't like the idea of it, but Gregor's dad had probably convinced her of it.

Gregor knew what this meant, he would have to see his friends before he left, whether he wanted to or not, and frankly, its not that he didn't want to, its just that he preferred staying in his room. He would call Alex and see if he wanted to get together, oh and he would probably have to call Zoey to so she didn't think he hated her. He would call them in the morning, right now he just wanted to go to bed, it was now 9:00 pm, and he was very tired. He didn't even know why he was tired, he had only laid in bed all day anyway.

That night Gregor had the same nightmare, and woke up in a cold sweat, just like he does almost every night. It was 8:46 am, the nightmare had lasted almost 12 hours, just like it usually does, usually a bit less then 12 hours, and more then 11 hours and 30 minutes. Oh, he would have to call Alex and Zoey up to see if they wanted to do something today, though he had no clue what to do with them. Gregor got up, got dressed, Grabbed Ares claw, which was sitting on top of the picture.

Gregor was just as protective over the claw as he was over the picture, many people had asked what type of animal it came from, and he had always simply replayed that it was from a Lion, and he had gotten it as a gift from his aunt who visited Africa sometimes. This was all a lie, and even though it wasn't a lion claw and his aunt (who is now dead) visited Africa, everybody seemed doubtful about it, but what else would it be, a giant bat claw, not likely, so they simply went with it. The one time someone had seen it he was out at the museum of Natural History in New york, before they left for Virginia. A guard had seen it and confronted Gregor cause he though that he stole it from one the the fossil exhibits, but after about 10 minutes of arguing he let Gregor go.

Once Gregor was ready for the day, he opened the door to his room, went and grabbed a phone, and called Alex.

"Hey Gregor what's up?" asked Alex once he picked up the phone.

"Hey Alex, I was wondering, I have to talk to you and Zoey about some things, wanna do something today?" Asked Gregor, in his normal raspy voice.

"Sure, how about we see that new movie, Avatar? It looks awesome with the blue people and stuff" suggested Alex, exited about seeing this new movie.(I seriously suggest you get it on DVD if you haven't seen it, its my favorite movie ever)

"Ok works for me, I'll come by and we can get Zoey to, in say, half an hour?" said Gregor, trying to work out the plans.

"No try an hour an half, it doesn't start till then, I'm on Fandango, and we can get lunch once its over" said Alex

"Ok, I'll call Zoey now dude, see ya in and hour and a half" said Gregor

"Ok see ya later" said Alex.

Gregor hung up the phone, relived that it didn't become anymore difficult then that. He then proceeded to call Zoey.

"Hello?" asked Zoey as she picked up the phone.

"Hey Zoey it's Gregor" said Gregor, still in his usual raspy voice.

"Oh hi Gregor!" Said Zoey, her voice instantly showing signs of her cheering up a bit.

"So I was wondering-" Said Gregor getting cut off by Zoey.

"Yes?" Said Zoey, cutting off Gregor, it seemed she though he was asking her out on a date.

"Well me and Alex are going to see that new movie Avatar, I was wondering if you wanted to come with us, were getting lunch afterwards" Asked Gregor

"Sure, that would be great, whens it start?" Asked Zoey, clearly less exited then a moment before, when she though Gregor was asking her out.

"In an hour and a half, I'll come by and get you ok?" said Gregor.

"Ok see you then" said Zoey

"Ok bye" said Gregor as he hung up the phone.

Well that was easier then expected, now he just has to ask his parents, even though he knows they will say yes. He set the phone down, and went over into the kitchen were his family was having breakfast. They never made Breakfast for Gregor, because they knew he never eat Breakfast anymore.

"Hey mom, dad, can I go see a movie with Alex and Zoey? Its in an hour and an half" asked Gregor, his voice a bit clearer but still raspy, he'd done more talking today then he usually does in an entire day.

"Sure honey, you need me to drive you and your friends?" asked Gregor's mom.

"No were just gonna walk" said Gregor.

"Ok honey" said Gregor's mom.

Gregor went over to the bathroom. He turned on the shower, and took a 20 minute shower. Once he was finished he dried off and went to his room. He looked at the clock. It was about 9:12 am, he still had about an hour left. Gregor went to his dresser, opened the top drawer and reached to the very back. He pulled out a small wooden box. He opened it up and there lay around $4,100. Gregor did a lot of work like shoveling snow and stuff like that, since he had nothing better to do. He never really wanted anything either, so he never really bought much. He took out around $120 from the box, and closed it, then put it back were he had gotten it from.

He went over to his bed and laid down, he knew he still had about an hour left, so he did what he does best, he went deep into though. By the time he came back to his senses he looked over at the clock. It was now 10:02 am, and with the amount of time it took to walk to his friends houses, he had to leave right now. Gregor grabbed his coat and went to the front door.

"Be careful honey!" said his mom

"You know me" said Gregor as he looked at his mom, and he ran his fingers over the giant scars on his chest, the ones the bane had given him.

Gregor didn't try to hide the fact that he touched his scares, in fact he made sure his mom saw him touch them. The last thing he saw before walking out the door was his moms face fill up with anger, and before she could yell at him, he closed the door.

Gregor looked at his watch, and it read 9:18 am. He had to get going now, so he started to jog down the street at a pace he knew he could maintain for over half an hour.

By the time he came to Alex's house Alex was sitting on his steps waiting.

"Hey Gregor!" shouted Alex as he ran up to Gregor.

"Hey, were going to get Zoey then were going to the movie" said Gregor, with a very raspy voice, as usual.

"Ok well lets get going, don't wanna miss the start of the movie" Said Alex.

Gregor and Alex started to walk down the road, going to Zoey's house. Then Alex suddenly started jogging, he then shouted back to Gregor "Race you to Zoey's house!"

Oh it's on, Gregor always loved running, and he loved racing more. He never lost a race, never. So he broke out into a sprint, and so did Alex. Gregor was about 20 feet behind Alex by the time he was into a sprint. After a good 45 seconds he was neck and neck with Alex. Gregor was one of the fastest kids in his school, and has done track every year.

By the time Gregor reached Zoey's house she walked out the door to greet him.

"Hi Gregor, were is Alex?" asked Zoey noticing Alex's absence.

As Zoey asked her question, Alex almost crashed into the two, he hardly missed them by only about 2 inches.

"Oh god Gregor, how do you run so fast?" Gasped out Alex in quick and deep Breaths.

"Wait did you guys race here?" giggled Zoey.

"Ya and I had about a 20 foot start on Gregor to, and he still beat me by a long shot" Said Alex, his breath starting to even out.

Zoey just smiled at Gregor, and all 3 of them started to walk down the street in the direction of the movie theater. By the time they had gotten there, the movie had started 5 minutes ago, but it probably still had 10 minutes of advertisements left before it really started.

The 3 of them bought tickets, a large popcorn, and then a small water each, which was still enormous. They all went into room 8 and took seats at the very back, by Zoey's insistence.

They sat through around 5 more minutes of ads before the movie started. About half way through the movie Zoey yawned, and laid her head down on Gregor's shoulder. Gregor was a bit surprised by this, but he knew how she felt about him and he just let it go. Gregor just hadn't noticed the small rat about 20 feet to his left, staring at him.

Once the was over, Gregor had to wake Zoey, who was gently sleeping with her head on his shoulder. She mumbled something Gregor didn't catch before she finally woke. She clearly didn't realize that she had been sleeping on Gregor shoulder, but it only saved her the embarrassment. Once they were out of the theater they started walking over to the nearest restaurant, which happened to be a Dominick's.

"So what did you think of the movie?" asked Alex, breaking the awkward silence.

"It was great!" Said Zoey.

"It was great, a new favorite for sure" said Gregor, with a raspy but mildly happy voice, though he was never truly happy.

Once the 3 of them got to the restaurant, they ordered a medium pepperoni pizza. while they were eating Gregor had told them about him going up to Maine soon. All 3 of them ate about 2 slices, and with full stomachs paid for the pizza and left. Gregor and Alex dropped Zoey off at her house were she said goodbye to the 2 boys.

"I had a great time guys thanks!" said Zoey as she kissed Gregor on the cheek and ran into her house giving them no time to respond.

Alex seemed a tad angered by this but said nothing, he had always like Zoey, just like over half the other boys in there school, this group excluding Gregor. The 2 boys raced back to Alex's house, but Gregor let Alex have around a 60 foot head start. Gregor still beat him by around 20 feet.

"Awww god man I don't think ill ever beat you" gasped out Alex, attempting to laugh, but couldn't since he was out of breath completely.

Gregor and Alex said bye to each other and Gregor started back to his house. Using echolocation, Gregor could have sword he saw a small rat across the street, behind a tree looking at him, but perhaps it was just him imagination.

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** And that would bee the end of chapter 3! I know not as good of a cliffhanger as last chapter, but its plays a role later in the story. I have a question for you guys, and it has to do with part of the story, I'm thinking of bringing Zoey, and maybe Alex down to the underland with Gregor, Problem is I don't know how well that would work out, you guys think I should do it? I don't need an answer immediately, but I'm gonna be bored tomorrow and might post chapter 4 then. Also thanks for all the support I've been getting! I've gotten more in a week then I expected in a month! It great, and I'm starting to get more and more confident in my writing abilities! Though the F I got on my writing essay on Friday didn't help with that. As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated! Thank you all and see you next time!**

**R&R people,**

**-Tytonic**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- hi Gregor, hi Zoey! Gregor explain this to Zoey please.**

***Gregor explains this all to Zoey***

**Zoey- Umm, ok this is weird but I'll go with it.**

**Tytonic- Ok so now that were on the same page I have something to do.**

***Tytonic sprays Gregor with a entire bottle of silly-string***

**Gregor- what the crap what that for?!**

**Tytonic- For trying to hit me last time, I suggest you don't do that again, I still, and always will have full power over this story.**

**Gregor- Uhhh, as long as you didn't hurt Luxa.**

**Tytonic- Don't worry, she's fine, for now.**

**Zoey- Wait who's Luxa?**

**Tytonic- Not important, at least not to you, and perhaps it will be later, but that part isn't final yet, so all I'll say is you wont like her at first**

**Gregor- Don't tell her**

**Tytonic- Don't worry I wont I wont.**

**Zoey- Wait I wanna know!**

**Gregor- No**

**Tytonic- well this is getting boring, see ya guys later, I'm starving.**

**Gregor and Zoey- Bye**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Zoey- wait, why am I still here?**

**Tytonic- all I'll say is that Luxa, was the girl in that picture.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

**Zoey- wait wha-**

***POOF***

**Tytonic- I'm gonna regret telling her that aren't I?**

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**Hope you all like it,**

**-Tytonic**


	4. Chapter 4: They Arise

** Well I'm back! I know I posted a chapter yesterday, but I'm really in the mood for writing, I just watched The Lone Survivor in the theater like an hour ago, and I'm not in the mood to play battlefield 4 right now, I've had enough blood for one day. You should really go see that movie though, it's a really good story, well if you can stand a lot of blood, and I mean a lot of blood. Well of that topic and onto the story. Thanks to everybody who reviewed and read last chapter, I spent a full 5 hours writing it. Believe me, not only that but the crap I'm getting at school for actually liking to write and read is unbelievable, but so far I think this story is worth it. Well, I have 1 more thing to say, or rather ask. How do you guys think I should drag Gregor, Zoey, and Alex down to the underland? I have no clue how I will get Zoey and Alex to get to New York, I can get them to the underland but how will I get them to New York? Well give me your ideas, cause I'm clueless here. As usual all responses encouraged and appreciated, so I guess I'll see you guys after the chapter, bye!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I only own Zoey, Alex, Max, and Hayden, oh and the myriapods to.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 4: They Arise**

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Luxa noticed a medium sized brown and wight bat flying over to the arena. Of course since it was training no body cared very much, that was until the bat came crashing down to the ground, dead from blood loss before it could even hit the ground.

As Luxa approached the bat, she could see 2 slices going strait across its back, and a dead human, which the was armless, due to the slices, and clearly, very clearly, this was no accident. It was unlike any wound she had ever seen, and it occurred to her, and everybody that saw it, that a murder had just occurred, and by no known creature either.

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_Later that day. . ._

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When the bat had crashed into the arena earlier that day, Luxa had guards sent out to investigate, and attempt to figure out what had transpired earlier that day. So far they had found nothing but a few spots of blood that had dropped from the bat when flying, though they were still trying to figure out were it had occurred. It was a slow process, but they were getting through it, and slowly they were finding were it had occurred, but at this rate it would still be a couple of days.

Luxa also had the bat and its rider sent to the hospital. Even though both were very clearly dead, they would still look over the body and try to find any clue as to what had caused this, but so far they had found nothing, and the only possibility was a small bug found near the border to the uncharted lands east of regalia, though this bug was far far to small to be considered a possibility. Though some people thought that it may still be that same bug, but a much larger version residing deeper into the uncharted lands.

Currently it was just after luncheon, and Luxa had some very rare free time, that she took full advantage of by sitting in a corner of the museum, practically in tears over all of the stress that has been hanging over her like a cloud since the day _he _left the underland. She couldn't handle all of it, not alone at least, and if she tried to confront anybody about any of it, they would only bring up her future husband Hayden, the man the council had decided to force on her just recently.

Honestly Hayden wasn't a bad man at all, he was strong ,handsome, and smart. There were a few problems though, one Luxa's heart was already stolen by _him _and two, Hayden was very selfish, didn't truly love Luxa, and only wants to be king, nothing else.

Thankfully Luxa had been to busy most of the time to be with him, and when she did have free time she was in the museum, and he didn't know about this as her little hangout place. When she did have free time, he would have work then, and if he did have free time at the same time as her, she would make sure that he didn't find her.

"Luxa, you are needed by the council, it seems the search party has found something on their search, and they need you to decide the next action they will take" said Vikus, as he walked into the museum. At this point Vikus always knew were to find Luxa when she had free time, either sleeping or in the museum, or sleeping in the museum.

"Ok, thank you for telling me Vikus, I will be right over" responded Luxa, a slight edge of irritation on her voice, for she had only been in the museum for 10 minutes.

Luxa slowly and annoyingly got up off the ground, and onto her feet. Forcing her legs to move, she slowly started to make her was to the council room. On the way she got a few Judgmental looks from servants, she knew she looked like a wreck right now, the stress was really taking a tole on her.

Once she got to the council room, she could see all 13 council members sitting impatiently waiting, and a guard from the search party in the middle of the room, holding a. . . a something in his hand, it was a dark brown, long shell of some sort.

"Hello your majesty, thank you for gracing us with your presence" said one of the council members.

"Yes, you are very welcome, now what is the matter?" asked Luxa, attempting, but failing, to keep the sleepy and irritated tone out of her voice.

"Yes, well, just on the border of the uncharted lands, one of the guards discovered this, a dark brown shell of some sort. To our knowledge, it doesn't belong to any know species. The only know creature it could belong to is a myriapod, though they are far to small for this to belong to, and that leads me to consider the theory some of our researchers have made, that deep in the uncharted lands they may be able to grow to much larger sizes" responded one of the council members, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"This brings up a matter of witch you need to resolve, do we continue into the uncharted lands, mapping it of course, in order to learn more on this entire case. I suggest we do, because this new creature is clearly a threat, and as it seems, very capable of inflicting lethal damage, and I believe that if we do not take action, the threat will only continue to grow" said another council member, not even giving Luxa a chance to respond to the last comment made.

"Well, this is a very pressing matter. I do indeed believe that we must continue on into the uncharted lands in search of this new creature. Double the number of guards sent, give them better weapons and armor, and somebody find Ripred, I want him to accompany the group. If by any chance this new species is hostile as a whole, nobody is better suited for combat against them than Ripred. If the chance is presented, I want one of these creatures brought back for study, either as an ally of a prisoner. I will insist that I accompany the group on this journey" said Luxa, straitening up and becoming every inch the queen she should be.

"We will follow you orders immediately, but I highly suggest that you do not accompany the party, but knowing you will go anyway, I insist that you beloved Hayden join alongside you for this journey" responded a council member, whilst Luxa rolled her eyes at the mention of Hayden and silently cursed to herself.

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_2 Hour later. . ._

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After the council had decided on a detailed plan, which took them an hour and a half, Luxa had set off to her room to prepare. When she had gotten there there were cloths fro traveling laid out, with some light armor alongside it. Luxa would have to go to the armory after getting ready, to look for a weapon.

After Luxa had gotten ready, she set out for the armory. On the way, she still got strange looks from people, though over the past 4 years she had gotten used to it, she always looked like an emotional wreck, though still headstrong and every inch a queen (that is in public).

Once she got to the armory she went on in. There were a few men in there sharpening their swords, but they paid no attention to Luxa. She went over to the lighter thinner swords and started testing them out 1 by 1. To heavy, to light, not balanced, to small, to big, to thin, not thin enough. She had gone through about 15 swords by the time she found the one she liked, decent balance, great weight, perfect size.

She also had Solovet's knife on her hip, the only thing aside from pictures that she had left from _him. _After she was ready from the armory, she went to the museum, to do 2 things. The first was to take one last look at the pictures, in case she didn't come back, and the second was to grab a flashlight and a roll of duct tape, an idea she had acquired from _him _during the prophecies.

Once Luxa was completely ready, she headed up to the high hall, were they would begin there journey. Once she got there she could see that everybody was ready and waiting on her, seems she spent a little to long in the museum.

"Well well well, we though you would never show up my dear bond" said Ripred in his sarcastic tone.

Luxa said nothing to this.

"Fine ignore me if you want, but you'll have to say something eventually" snarled Ripred

Once Luxa had mounted Aurora, they greeted each other, but said nothing else. The two had been drifting farther apart ever since _he _left. Luxa never had time to fly with Aurora, and when she did have free time she was always in the museum. Because of this growing depression, mentally they were growing apart.

Hayden had attempted to greet Luxa, but she simply nodded to him and said nothing else. The entire group took off, all 23 of them, 20 guards, Ripred, Luxa, and Hayden. The group started to head east, to were the shell had been discovered. It took a good hour before the group arrived. When they landed, they looked around for any immediate dangers, and set up camp for the night. Luxa and Ripred took first guard, were both could swear they heard very quiet and distant clicking noises, but not like the crawlers, much lower pitch, and much longer of a sound. It was to quiet and to distant to be considered a threat, so they discarded the danger of it. After their 2 hour watch was up, Luxa had sharpened her sword during it, they switched with one of the guards and Hayden. Hayden kissed Luxa on the cheek as she passed by him, though this made her feel more miserable then she had previously been. That night, after the hour it took for Luxa to fall asleep, she had a dreamless sleep, which was very rare for her, but was a relief from her usual nightmare.

Luxa awoke to Ripred flicking her in the face with his tail, and then Hayden getting pissed at Ripred for it. After a minute of arguing Ripred just slapped Hayden across the face with his tail, and left a huge red line right across his face, which immediately shut Hayden up.

After eating a morning meal, all 23 of them set off once more. It was a long boring flight, which had to be halted just about every 10 minutes for the map maker to map the path they were taking. The clicking noises started to get a bit louder, but very slowly, it would be a long time before they arrived at the source. Everybody seemed to hear the clicking noises, and multiple of the guards seemed to be shifting nervously back in forth on their bats.

In around 5 hours they landed beside a river for luncheon. In order to save food for later on in the trip, the bats went fishing, and they all eat cooked fish for luncheon. They rested fro a couple of hours while the bats slept, hanging form a ledge just above them. Around 3 hours later, all the bats had rested, and were ready to continue the journey.

The flight went on for around another 4 hours. There was an erie silence over the group for the entire time, excluding the bone shaking scratching from Ripred gnawing on a fish bone. This was very unsettling for Luxa, especially since the clicking seemed to be a few more hours off.

The entire group froze and landed when they heard a very loud clicking noise from just below them. Within a second 2 sharp spikes whipped out of darkness and cut one of the guards into 3 parts, his head, torso, and legs. Immediately Luxa whipped out her flash light and shone it to were the attack came from, there was nothing there, absolutely nothing. Then suddenly behind her another Guard got taken out, this time being cut strait on both shoulders, cutting both arms off, and then one more quick slice to the neck killing him instantly.

After about 5 minutes of this, only Luxa, Ripred, Hayden, and 3 other guards remained, even fewer bats remained. None of them could move anywhere, when 5 of the guards earlier had tried to move out, attempting to get to safety, all 5 had been taken out within 10 seconds.

A tail whipped out of the darkness, this time aimed at Ripred. He hardly blocked it in time, but when he did he grabbed it and yanked the creature into the light, were he then let out a storm of strikes on the creature.

There lay the creature, dead on the ground. Luxa had once read a book from the museum on overland animals, and from her knowledge or it, this seemed to be a 10 foot long millipede. By the looks of the damage Ripred had done, the only reason it was dead was because one of his strikes landed in between 2 plates of shell, just by the neck, every other strike did nothing more then scratched the shell.

By the time Luxa had finished looking at he dead bug, she realized that the other 3 guards had all been killed. When Luxa saw this she didn't even have time to register what she was looking at when she brought up her sword to meet 2 stingers coming at her. These stingers broke right through her sword, though lucky for Luxa, the sword slowed down the strike enough to were it only left 2 deep cuts in her armor, and 2 long scratches on her chest.

"Luxa are you alright?" screamed Hayden from somewhere to her left.

"Yes I'm Fine" responded Luxa.

"That's go-" said Hayden, as a stinger ripped right through his back, and out his stomach.

Luxa didn't scream for him, she just stared as Ripred yanked the stinger out of Hayden, and brought the bug in, and with 1 quick slice at the neck, killed it.

Ripred had yelled something Luxa didn't catch, but she knew what was happening when the bats dropped down, picked everybody up, and an extra bat picked up the carcass of on of the bugs.

The Flight back was all a big blur to Luxa, but before she knew it she could see regalia in the distance. When they got to the high hall, every bat crash landed and fell asleep immediately.

Doctors rushed in and dragged Hayden off to the hospital. If it hadn't been for Ripred shoving dirt in Hayden's wound, he would have bleed to death hours ago. Some other doctors attempted to attend to Luxa's wounds, but she waved them off, because she had only mere scratches, compared to Hayden with a huge hole in his Stomach.

Luxa slowly dragged herself to her room, were she just collapsed from how tired she was on her bed, this was when the pressure of what happened set in. Two bugs had taken out 20 men and 19 bats in 5 minutes, and almost killed another man. This was a new enemy, and very clearly a powerful enemy. Luxa then realized that all of the Humans would have to prepare for all out war.

Luxa had awoken from another dreamless sleep, and from what the servant that woke her said, she had been asleep for around 18 hours. She slowly and groggily made her way to the royal bathroom. She then proceeded to take a scolding hot bath for the next hour.

Once she had finished her bath, and cleaning herself up, she went strait to the council room, just like the servant had told her to. When she arrived they were in a deep argument with Ripred.

"Well what do you propose we do? We don't have the materials to make better weapons and armor!" yelled one the the council members.

"Well we need to get more then! I told you, use steel! Your to stubborn to use the method the Overland has discovered that could possibly save our lives! Get over your freaking pride! All of Regalia is at stake here!" Yelled Ripred back, very very pissed off, and it took a lot to piss him off.

"What is this steel you speak of?" Asked Luxa as she walked in the room.

"Well your highness, its a overland method that I read about before, it is a way to strengthen iron, making it more then twice as strong, sharp, and kind of lighter" Explained Ripred.

"Well why are we not using it then?" asked Luxa.

"Because this freaking old man wont swallow his pride and allow the usage of an overland method!" snarled Ripred.

"Well, knowing how dearly we need this advantage, as queen I order the usage of this steel, and I request the first sword made from it so I may test it" ordered Luxa.

The council member that had been arguing with Ripred opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it when Ripred shot him the death glare.

This was it, this was the advantage they needed to fight there new enemies, steel. Hopefully this new type of metal could provide enough power in order for the humans to survive the war that was sure to come in.

"Ripred, I have a job for you" said Luxa, here heart rising at what she was about to say.

"And that would be?" asked Ripred

"I need you to find the warrior, and I need you to bring him here, his help is required" said Luxa, her voice showing signs of excitement, knowing that Ripred would be able to find the warrior.

"Way ahead of you my dear bond, I'm getting weekly reports on his whereabouts, his family is going to travel to Maine, which to do they need to come close to New York. From what my spies hear, the warriors parents plan to stop in New York, to visit Mrs. Cormaci, who I am aware that you know is his old neighbor. I could probably, assuming I can get him away form his parents, get him here within 5 days, but I warn you, he has changed in many ways, some of witch you will not like" Said Ripred.

Luxa didn't care if he changed, she was going to see _him _she was going to see the boy who had stolen her heart, she was going to see the warrior. She was going to see Gregor for the first time in 4 years. This hit Luxa so fast that she almost fainted right there. The day she had hoped for for years, was coming, and it was nearly upon her, she could hardly keep in the excitement.

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**Well I hope you guys liked that chapter, cause I spent about 7 hours on it, I got MAJOR writers block after like the first 400 words. I am really exited for the next chapter, even though I know what is going to happen, its not set in stone yet. So a hint to people who actually read my author notes, Zoey and Alex are going with Gregor to the Underland, now imagine the possibilities with that? Get ready for some drama between Zoey and Luxa. Well you guys have all been so good to me on my first story here, so I thank you all very much! See you guys on the next chapter!**

**R&R guys,**

**-Tytonic**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Hey guys, Luxa, explain this is Ripred before he kills me, please.**

***Luxa explains everything to Ripred.***

**Tytonic- Ok now that were all on the same page, what did you guys think of the chapter?**

**Luxa- It was great! Well at least the end, not when everybody died.**

**Ripred- Well is was all worth the fighting just to see my bond about to blowup when I told her about the warrior.**

**Tytonic- Well that's good to know, you know Luxa, he's been very exited to meet you again.**

**Luxa- He has?!**

**Tytonic- yes but I'll only tell you that's he misses you a lot, and that he's completely alive.**

**Luxa- cant you tell me more?**

**Tytonic- Yes, but that would ruin it for the readers.**

**Luxa- oh. . .**

**Tytonic- Well ill see you guys later, bye.**

**Luxa and Ripred- See you later.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Ripred- Why am I still here?**

**Tytonic- I just needed to tell you not to mention Zoey to Luxa, I want the drama full force when they meet okay?**

**Ripred- Ok got it, wasn't planning to anyway, your not the only one that want to see the drama.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

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**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**


	5. Chapter 5: Explanations

** Welcome back to chapter 5 guys! Yes I know 3 chapters in 3 days, but who cares? More reading for you guys, more writing for me. I'm just bored ok? I have nothing to do right now and I played to much battlefield already today. I honestly don't know how I will do this chapter, all I know is a very, very rough outline of it. Well you know, when I get writers block, the ideas don't stop coming, they start coming faster, just about other things. I already have about half of a sequel to this planned out, I know a bit early for that but the earlier I got all the ideas the faster I can make the story. Thanks to all of you who have supported me so far, I have over 200 views! About a week and I'm this far? Well I'm speechless, I couldn't imagine getting this far this fast, in fact I never really imagined getting anywhere, but I still wanted to write, and so I did. As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so, tell me what your thinking! See you guys after the chapter!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own the Underland chronicles or anything to do with it, I only own the characters I have made up and the plot itself.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 5: Explanations**

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Gregor and Alex said bye to each other and Gregor started back to his house. Using echolocation, Gregor could have sword he saw a small rat across the street, behind a tree looking at him, but perhaps it was just him imagination.

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_2 Days Later. . ._

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Recently Gregor had started to see more and more rats, did they even live in Virginia? Gregor wasn't even sure they lived around Virginia, so was somebody playing cruel tricks on him or what, was he going crazy? Gregor didn't like it one bit, though he knew it wasn't that big of a deal anyways.

Gregor didn't even care that much, yes the rats seemed to be annoying, but it seemed like everybody was having the same problem.

Gregor had just awoken from a deep sleep, and it was weird, because he dreamed about giant millipedes, awkward, very awkward. This wasn't normal, he usually dreamed about the falling, and more falling, and _her. _Either way he preferred this new dream, though it was very violent, and he did get hurt very badly, it wasn't even near the level of emotional pain the other dream has caused him for the past 4 years.

Today was Sunday, and according to Alex, he wanted to meet up at the park around 12:00 pm later that day. It was around 10:37 am right now, so Gregor had some time to get ready. He took a hot steamy shower, which relived all the knots in his back, and then he got dressed. Gregor even grabbed a cup of coffee, which was black, with a little amount of cream in it, but Gregor didn't mind, he honestly didn't care how it tasted.

Once it was 11:43 Gregor set out the door, picture in his pocket, and claw hanging from his neck. It took Gregor around 5 minutes to get to the park. It was usually a square 15 minute walk, but seeing as to Gregor loved running, he jogged at a steady pace all the way to his destination. By the time he arrived at the park, he could see a few younger kids, of maybe about 8 years old playing with a small ball.

He knew Alex wasn't suppose to meet him her for another 10 minutes, so Gregor passed the time by jogging around the edge of the park for those 10 minutes. He let his thoughts wander around, selecting random things to settle on. This went on for almost the entire 10 minutes but around 9 minutes his mind went to the underland. He knew he would never be able to go back, no matter how desperately he wanted to go. Everyone had probably forgotten him anyway, they had all probably moved on with there lives, forgetting everything he did for them, forgetting it all. There was probably peace in all the lands, with the queen ruling over them. Wait, she should be turning 16 about now, so does that mean that she is going to marry somebody? So that's it, she probably moved on, fell in love, and is going to get married to some random man, some man who hadn't saved all of the underland, let alone saved it more then once.

She was going to be very happy, without him, forgetting that he ever existed. Now this made Gregor feel like the worlds had just been dropped on op of him, and it even made him feel pathetic, here was this girl he liked when he was 12, and after 4 years, and being separated forever, he still couldn't forget her, while she probably forgot him within a month, like he was never there, like he never existed.

Gregor was snapped back to his senses when his foot caught a crack in the sidewalk, and caused him to fall face first onto the ground. Great, now not only was he miserable, but he also got a couple of rather shallow cuts on his face, causing it to drip a little bit of blood onto the ground below him. This was nothing to Gregor, it was basically the same as tickling him, after all the wounds he had been inflicted with, he had gotten use to pain, and he could withstand large amounts of it. While somebody broke their arm, they would be immobilized with pain, while Gregor, would just flinch at the large pain, and suck it up for the time being.

He was defiantly scarred for life. Everything that had happened to him, he felt different in the overland, he felt like he was on some strange alien planet as a prisoner, he would never feel at home, never again.

Gregor got up to his feet once more, and walked over to a bench in the middle of the park, knowing that Alex would be there any minute.

Gregor was still sitting waiting. He sat like this for another minute before, using his echolocation, saw Alex attempting to sneak up on him, and he also saw Zoey about 10 feet behind Alex, struggling to keep from laughing, and thus giving away their position.

"Alex, I know your there" said Gregor in his usual raspy voice, Alex was about 10 feet behind Gregor at the time, and Gregor saw a confused look pass over his face.

"Okay, you caught me, but how did you know I was there? I was being very silent if I say so myself" Asked Alex, still very confused.

"Well I guess you weren't being quiet enough" Said Gregor. It wasn't a complete lie, he had used echolocation, which is sound, in order to see Alex coming.

Gregor, using echolocation still, saw Alex wave Zoey over, so they would attempt to scare him a second time. Alex went over to Gregor and sat down next to him, creating a lot of noise so that Zoey could go unheard.

"Its no use Zoey, I know your there to" said Gregor when Zoey was still around 8 feet away.

"W-what? How could you possibly tell? There is no way you could have heard me!" said Zoey, clearly very shocked, judging by the sound of her voice.

"Well I guess I just have good hearing" Said Gregor, still not a complete lie, in order to use echolocation you had to have very good hearing.

"Wait, how could you tell it was me then? There is no way you could have heard who I was from 10 feet away" Said Zoey, as she walked over and sat down to Gregor's left on the bench.

"Well since Alex was here it would make sense that you would be to" Said Gregor. Zoey was still unconvinced.

"Come on, then how did you know it was Alex behind you?" Asked Zoey, still not buying what Gregor was feeding to her.

"I don't know, lucky guess?" Said Gregor, his verbal defense falling quickly.

"Come on Gregor, please, just tell us" Asked Zoey, not letting up on his case.

"Why does it even matter? It makes no difference whether you know or not so could you just let off?" Asked Gregor, taken back by his sudden harshness.

"Well now, so you do have a secret?" said Zoey, not affected by Gregor's sudden outburst whatsoever.

"No I-" Said Gregor as he got cut of by Zoey.

"Oh so now you say you don't have a secret? Your right this doesn't matter at all, but now I really wanna know, so tell me. I mean what could be so important that you would hide it form us?" Said Zoey, cutting Gregor off.

"You have no idea" Mumbled Gregor under his breath, but apparently loud enough for Zoey to hear.

"I have No idea about what? Just tell me!" Said Zoey. Once she got her mind set on something, she never let it go, and clearly this was one of those times.

"I'll tell you okay? Right now just isn't the right time to do so. You would think I was crazy anyway" Said Gregor, attempting to put this off for later, when he could think of a better thing to say.

Zoey was speechless, but nodded her head, and all 3 o them knew that this wasn't over.

"So now that that's over, we needed to talk to you about something Gregor" Said Alex, switching the subject completely, changing the mood of the conversation.

"Our parents were talking last night, and your mom invited me and Zoey to go with you up to Maine, both of our parents said yes, and apparently we are going with you" Said Alex, seeming rather happy about breaking the news to Gregor.

"Well, its fine by me, now I don't have to lay around the entire trip" Said Gregor, attempting to adjust to the sudden and awkward change of mood.

"Well that's good to know, cause were both going whether you like it or not" Grinned Alex.

"Well onto more current matters, you know that club that y parents are in?"

"Yes, the one with the indoor pool right?" Responded Gregor.

"Yes, well I wanted to know if you wanna go swimming there today, Zoey already said yes" Said Alex, bringing up Zoey so that if he said no, he would feel left out.

"Sure, can I meet you there once I'm ready?" Asked Gregor.

"Got it, see you there then, bye" Said Alex as he and Zoey got up to go to the pool.

Gregor wasn't the biggest fan of swimming, not after the incident on the waterway during the quest to find the bane. He would go swimming any way, because he knew there was no giant man eating squid in an indoor pool, or at least there shouldn't be.

Gregor quickly Jogged home, it took about another 5 minutes. Once Gregor got home, he quickly grabbed his bathing suit and tossed it in a plastic bag. It as a bit cold out this time of year to go running Down the street in your bathing suit. His bathing suit included a long sleeve surf shirt, to hide the scars covering his entire body.

Once Gregor was ready he took off out the door down to the club. It took about 10 minutes of jogging to get there, considering that it was twice as far away as the park was. It was an uneventful run, though he once again could have sworn that he saw a rat watching him.

By the time Gregor got there it was just about 12:34 pm, so they would have plenty of time to swim. He walked on in and saw Alex and Zoey both ready to go swimming, and he walked over to the changing room to change into his bathing suit. He did it fast, so that by a slim possibility if somebody walked in on him, they wouldn't see all his scars.

Gregor finished changing, and with Ares claw around his neck, and the picture over in his cloths pocket, he ran and jumped into the water, he did so silently so that he freaked both Zoey and Alex out.

"Hey Gregor, why do you still have that claw necklace on?" asked Alex just before he dived of the diving board, and into the pool. He failed terribly and did a belly flop accompanied by a earsplitting slap of flesh on water.

"Well, well I got it from somebody very close to me, someone who I have lost" responded Gregor, bad memories crashing into his mind like a tsunami crashing through a city.

"Oh, who did you loose?" Asked Zoey, attempting to comfort Gregor once she clearly saw that his head was filling with memories of some sort.

"H-he, he w-was like a-a best f-friend to m-me" said Gregor, struggling greatly to keep the tears and sobs back, but to no prevail, the pain was to great.

"He was always there for me. When I would fall he would be there to catch me" Sobbed out Gregor as Zoey made her way over to him to comfort him.

"How did you loose him?" Asked Alex, but quickly realized he was doing more harm then good when Zoey shot him the death glare.

"I-I. . . I just don't want to talk about it okay?" asked Gregor in short sobs.

"Ok we understand" Said Zoey as she Tried to put her arms around Gregor.

Gregor would have rather her not do it, but he didn't care, he was thinking to much about Ares to really care. Gregor knew he would have to tell them both everything eventually, and he knew that they cold tell something was up, though they didn't know what.

It was then that Gregor realized that he could really trust his 2 friends. It was then that he decided he would tell them everything. He didn't care if it was the wrong thing to do, he just needed to get the weight of keeping such a big secret off of his shoulders.

Once Zoey pulled away, though she didn't for quite a while she asked Gregor something.

"Gregor, is there anything you want to tell us?" Asked Zoey, with deep concern in her eyes.

"Actually yes, there is a lot I want to tell you guys, just promise not to tell anybody else okay?" Responded Gregor.

When both Alex and Zoey nodded, Gregor hesitated a moment. After a moment of collecting his thoughts, he started to tell the whole story, the entire thing with as much detail as possible.

It took about an hour and a half to tell the entire story, along with another 20 minutes if you add up all of Alex's questions. Gregor told them everything but his more then friends relationship with Luxa, in fear of the response from Zoey if he did.

Once Gregor was done telling the entire story, they all sat in silence for about a minute. This awkward Silence was broken by Alex's hysterical laughing.

"Oh my god Gregor, you expect us to believe that!?" laughed Alex, hardly keeping himself from falling to the ground and rolling around laughing.

He quickly shut up when Zoey elbowed him in the side, hard. The silence continued for a few moments until Gregor finally said something.

"You guys don't have to believe me, think I'm crazy, but It's caused more damage both physically and mentally to me that will never heal then either of you could ever imagine" said Gregor, relieved that he finally got all of that off of his chest.

"Physical damage?" Asked Zoey, kind of doubtful but taking Gregor seriously anyway.

When she said this there were a few more moments of silence. Gregor broke this silence by reaching up and taking off his swim shirt, revealing all of his scars.

Both Zoey and Alex Gasped when they saw all the scars covering Gregor's body. They stared, they just stared for about 5 minutes when Gregor reached over and put his swim shirt back on.

"B-but how?" Gasped out both Alex and Zoey

"I just told you both" Said Gregor calmly.

"For the record, I believe you Gregor" choked out Zoey

"Well, I want to believe you, but I need more proof then that, that could have been a do attack for all I know. I know, what about that picture you Max and his guys over? You never explained that" Asked Alex, looking for more closure on this.

"I would give anything to go back there" said Gregor.

"But why? It sounds like a horrible place!" Replied Zoey in response to Gregor.

"Because I left people that I loved behind" Said Gregor.

"Ahem! The picture?" Said Alex impatiently.

"Perhaps I will show you guys the picture another time, but right now is not the right time to do that" replied Gregor, wanting to keep the truth from hurting Zoey anymore then most of this already has.

"You know what, ill see you guys later, I'm going home, I need some time to think, just don't tell anybody about his okay?" Asked Gregor.

When both Zoey and Alex nodded, Gregor went and got changed again, then he went and left to go home. He needed time to think. He had just told 2 people his biggest secret ever, and he was now wondering if it was the right thing to do. He assumed they would both need some time to think everything over as well. All Gregor knew as of now was that he had just set himself up for a very very awkward trip to Maine.

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** And that's just about a wrap on this chapter peeps! I personally don't like this chapter as much as the other chapters, and I don't know if I made a mistake telling Alex and Zoey this early, but whats to be done now? It will all work out as the story goes on anyway. I know I did make a mistake not putting Gregor in the underland this chapter though, since I don't really have anything else to do with Luxa at the moment, I will just have to make the next chapter from Gregor's point of view. Well tell me how I did guys, thanks for your support, and as always all responses encouraged and appreciated!**

**R&R Peeps,**

**-Tytonic**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- So thoughts on the chapter?**

**Zoey- Well I am still having trouble comprehending what Gregor told us, is that all really true?**

**Tytonic- Yes it is, he left out a few details, but for good reason. I suggest you brace yourself Zoey, be ready for some major drama.**

**Zoey- Why?**

**Tytonic- You will see in due time, so Gregor, thoughts?**

**Gregor- well I wouldn't have cried in the pool but thanks to you I did.**

**Tytonic- Well considering I control this story, if I made you cry, then you would have cried anyway.**

**Gregor- Whatever.**

**Tytonic- Well Ill see you guys later, I got some work to do, and I don't have much time, so bye!**

**Zoey- Bye!**

**Gregor-*Grumbles***

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

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**see you guys soon,**

**-Tytonic**


	6. Chapter 6: The Return

**Hello people of FanFiction, and welcome back to chapter 6 of ****Gregor and that War of the Myriapods****! I know you guy must have gotten used to me uploading 1 a day for 3 days strait, but I did that simply out of boredom. I will continue to upload as often as possible, though I will not have a set schedule. Thank you all for supporting me and my story, I've gotten nothing but good feedback so far, even though I personally think its more than a deserve. As of now, I am sitting at a great 340 views, and its only been a week and a half! I mean thats crazy, I never expected anywhere close to this! Its very early in the story, so if anybody has any suggestions whatsoever. Do not hesitate to tell me, its not to late to add key factors in! As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated! See you guys after the chapter, bye!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own The Underland Chronicles, I only own the character I make up!**

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**See ya later,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 6: The Return**

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He needed time to think. He had just told 2 people his biggest secret ever, and he was now wondering if it was the right thing to do. He assumed they would both need some time to think everything over as well. All Gregor knew as of now was that he had just set himself up for a very very awkward trip to Maine.

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_3 days later. . ._

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It had been 3 days since Gregor had told Zoey and Alex, his two best friends, about the underland. He hadn't talked to them since then, though in a few hours he would be forced to see them whether he wanted to or not. They were both supposedly going with him on his trip up to Maine, though Gregor couldn't imagine why they were going, they just were.

Gregor had awoken from a very unsettling nightmare, but it was different from his usual nightmare, this time it was scenes of every person he loved dying right in front of him, in terrible terrible ways to. When he tried to move to save them he was frozen in place, like he was a statue, he couldn't more at all. He was being forced to watch them meet their demise over and over again.

Gregor and his family would be leaving, in their rented minivan, to go to Maine in around 3 hours. They would first pick up Alex and Zoey, then continue onto the route that the GPS designated.

Gregor had a square 3 hours to get ready. The first thing he did was take a shower, and then get dressed. He then continued to grab a suitcase, and then start to pack it full of things he may need. He took $1,000 of his savings, and an LED light, that supposedly had 100,000 hours of charge in it, and it was extremely bright. Gregor had bought this special light for $120 around 3 months after he left the underland, he always kept it with him. Since his time in the underland, he would never feel comfortable in the darkness, not scared, but like something wasn't right. He knew that the underland was behind him forever, and that the shadows would never hide creatures trying to kill him now that he had moved, but even with his echolocation he didn't feel comfortable with being in dark areas without light. He didn't care if it was like a little kid, but with the experiences he's had, you always want to have light, just in case. He also packed a bunch of essentials, though mostly cloths, things you always pack for a trip.

Gregor grabbed a piece of toast with butter on it, and even that surprised him and his family, since he never ate in the morning. He grabbed a few more little things to bring with him. This included a small key chain light that he clipped to the belt around his waist.

Once Gregor was sure he was ready, he triple checked to see that he had extra pictures, extra picture of him and Luxa. He had photocopied the original a few times before, but the original held something more. . . sentimental then a piece of paper with the picture printed onto it. He usually kept the original with him, and he was doing so now, but he still kept the copies, 1 of which he was bringing, a couple he was leaving, just in case. He already knew he had Ares claw hanging from his neck, but because of the memories attached to it, he looked down at it to make sure it was there anyway.

Gregor must have drifted away in thought at some point because he suddenly realized that they were leaving in 5 minutes. He quickly grabbed his suitcase and loaded it into the back of the van.

"Gregor were going now, make sure you go to the bathroom one more time before we go, we don't want to have to stop halfway for no reason" Yelled Gregor's mom from the front seat of the van, ready to go.

Once Gregor was done with his "business" he went back out to the van and got into the middle of the 3 rows of seats. Both Zoey and Alex would be sitting in the same row as Gregor, he didn't mind but he knew that Zoey would be all over him the entire trip. He could stand it, he just hoped that neither Zoey or Alex brought up the underland, his mom would be pissed if she found out that Gregor told either of them, though Gregor knew it would come up one way or another.

Once everybody was ready, they set off on their trip, though it didn't truly start until they went and picked Zoey and Alex up. Once they got to Alex's house, they could see Alex dragging his bags out to the van.

"Hey guys how you doing?" Asked Alex once he had shoved all of his bags into the very back of the van.

"Good, you?" mumbled Gregor in his raspy voice.

"Well I'm very bored, and I assume hours of driving wont help that, so I brought every form of entertainment I could" responded Alex.

The entire group proceeded to drive down the street to Zoey's house, completely silent the entire time. Once they got to Zoey's house, Alex helped Zoey with her bags, and then allowed her to go in the car first, sticking her right next to Gregor. Gregor knew that he had done that on purpose, just for Zoey's benefit.

"Hey Gregor, hey Gregor's family" Said Zoey, her voice changing slightly when she greeted Gregor in particular.

"Hey" responded Gregor. It was amazing that Zoey still hadn't noticed that Gregor doesn't like her the way she like him, and if she has noticed, then she doesn't know that its hopeless.

The ride then began. Both of Gregor's friends had looked at the GPS, and realized that it was set to his old apartment, though they didn't tell Gregor when they noticed that he hadn't bothered to look at the GPS, they both knew that he was in for a surprise, and they both wanted to see that.

The drive continued for around 2-3 hours, all filled with dead silence. Zoey and Alex were both using their phones, and Gregor suspected that they were texting each other, probably about stuff that they didn't want Gregor to hear. Gregor could have sworn that he saw a picture of him as Zoey's background through the reflection on the window. Gregor knew that she had a huge thing for him, but really? That was just plain creepy. Gregor didn't say anything about it, because he knew it would only cause trouble.

By the time that the silence was disturbed, it was by the GPS.

"In 2 miles, make a left and continue for 1 mile to your destination"

This really caught Gregor's attention, it should be at least another 2 hours till they stop, so why were they stopping now? Gregor had been fixed in an awkward position, focusing on the back of the seat in front of him, but now he looked out he window and realized were they were. They were in New York. Gregor's thoughts instantly went strait to the underland. Would he be able to go back? Was everybody okay? How was Luxa doing? Then Gregor realized something else. His mom had invited Alex and Zoey, so that Gregor couldn't go down to the underland. This hit Gregor very hard, he knew exactly how it would work, and it mad shim miserable. He knew that he couldn't go back now, but he knew that even though he can control the urge at the moment, he wont be able to later, even with his friends here with him.

Both Alex and Zoey saw the sudden change in Gregor's mood, and they both knew that he was thinking about the underland. This made Zoey kind of sad, because she knew he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to go down, and she knew that in doing so that he would leave her in the overland. She knew that she only had so much longer left with him, so she decided that she would have to make the best out of that time.

"Gregor, are you okay?" Asked Zoey.

"Yes, I'm fine, it's just. . . never mind" responded Gregor.

Gregor's mom shot his dad a concerned look, and was about to say something when his dad just shook his head. The ride went for another 5 minutes, mostly because of all the traffic, but once they parked, Gregor was the first out of the car, and had all of his bags out by the time everybody else had started to pull their bags out.

"So kids, we are going to stay with Mrs. Cormaci for around 4 days, and then we are going to continue up to Maine, and Gregor, before you ask, NO NO AND NO" Addressed Gregor's mom to the entire group.

Everybody continued into the apartment complex. Once they reached the door, they all set down their bags, their arms were tired from carrying everything up the stairs, since the elevator still didn't work, even after all of these years.

Once they were all ready, they knocked on the door. The door opened up within 10 seconds, and Mrs. Cormaci appeared and started to greet them.

"Oh hello! Its been so long! You've all grown so much!" Said Mrs. Cormaci as she went around hugging everybody. It was one of those weird awkward moments when she hugged Zoey and Alex.

"Hey Mrs. Cormaci" Responded Gregor

Everybody proceeded to go into the apartment, Gregor went in last, and when he did Mrs. Cormaci whispered into his ear, "Sorry, no mail".

Gregor knew exactly what she had meant, she had meant whether or not she had received any new from the Underland. Once everybody was in the apartment, they all got spots, and then set up for the next 4 days. Gregor had noticed that Zoey had purposely set up within 2 feet of were he had set up, since it wasn't a very big apartment, that was just about all the space they could muster up in between them anyway. She was seriously taking advantage of every little thing to get closer to Gregor.

They all ate lunch that Mrs. Cormaci had prepared for them before they arrived, and then all settled down to do whatever. Gregor didn't know what to do, so he did what he usually did, he laid down, and stared up at the roof, sunken deep in an ocean of thoughts. It was only around Dinner that somebody bothered to shake him back to his senses.

"GREGOR, EARTH TO GREGOR, HELLO?" yelled Zoey in Gregor's ear as he stared at the roof.

"I'm here I'm here, now can you get out of my face please?" Asked Gregor as Zoey pulled away blushing, realizing that their faces had been inches away as she yelled in his face.

"Ok, now whats up?" asked Gregor.

"Dinner is ready, come on or Alex will eat it all!" said Zoey.

"ok ok, I'm going" responded Gregor.

Zoey just gave him one of her weird smiles, the type you have when staring at somebody you like, but when they don't see you staring. Gregor noticed this and just looked back at her, and she quickly looked away blushing. Gregor rolled his eyes at Zoey's actions. He was getting use to her being like this, but it was really starting to get excessive.

They had homemade pizza for dinner. It wasn't bad, in fact it tasted great, man, Gregor really missed Mrs. Cormaci's cooking. After dinner, Zoey wanted to go up onto the roof to watch the sunset, so Gregor took her up onto the roof to watch the sunset. While they were watching the sunset, Zoey decided that she wanted to chat a little.

"Gregor, your going to go back aren't you?" Asked Zoey, a pang of sadness in her voice.

"Well. . . I really want to, and I know I wont be able to resist the urge very long, I'm amazed that I've been able to resist for this long already" responded Gregor.

"I really don't want you to go, what if you go and don't come back?" Asked Zoey.

"Well when I left there was peace, I trust Luxa was able to keep it for 4 years, so it shouldn't be that dangerous, at least not as much as last time I was there" Responded Gregor.

"Well just. . . just please don't go. . . I don't know what I would do if you went and didn't come back" pleaded Zoey.

"I cant make any promises, I'm sorry but I just cant, I hope you understand" replied Gregor.

"I want to understand, but I can't. Why do you want to go back down so badly?" Asked Zoey.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you, it wouldn't be good if I did. You'll find out eventually whether I want you to or not" Said Gregor as he sat up and walked back inside, due to the sunset being over.

Gregor got into his makeshift bed, and laid there facing away from Zoey's makeshift bed. He heard he come back in and get in bed to. Using his Echolocation he could see that she was staring at him, with a look of sadness and concern.

The next morning he awoke without dream. He knew that Zoey and Alex were already awake, and they were still laying in bed, trying to act asleep. It was an awkward morning with little talking but eventually Gregor's mom broke the silence.

"So Gregor, why don't you take out Alex and Zoey to see around New York? They have never been here before you know" Said Gregor's mom.

"Ok, we can go once you guys are done Breakfast, ill be waiting outside the door" said Gregor as he walked off.

Gregor went to his bag and pulled out a few things. He always had his flashlights, and while he was in New York again, he really needed to make sure that he had them with him, the risk was much higher. He grabbed everything of possible use, though that wasn't much at all, it was basically some gum and the flashlights, plus a small pocket knife, with a blade around 3 inches.

Once Zoey and Alex came out of the apartment, they set off. Zoey and Alex wanted to go to a few famous landmarks, but they didn't have enough time to see many, so they took a cab to the empire state building. Once they were done there, it took so long that they went and got lunch. They all got burgers with fries, though Gregor only took like 3 bites from his burger, he wasn't really hungry.

Next they wanted to go to central park, so they took another cab to their destination. They took a nice long walk until both of them wanted to see _the _rock. He had tried to argue against it, but he only lasted around a minute against their combined efforts.

He took them to the rock, and they seemed fairly interested in it, though Gregor had to keep them from moving it aside.

As they were messing around a tail whipped out sweeping Zoey and Alex off of their feet, while Gregor saw it coming and jumped over it. He then spun around and caught it in his hand, but once he had a grip on it he was meant with a couple of claws held to his neck.

"Hello warrior, nice of you to come here" said a voice that Gregor instantly recognized as Ripred.

"Ripred!" Yelled Gregor as he spun away and threw a rock right into Ripred's face.

Gregor could see that Alex and Zoey and finally gotten back to their senses, and could see the giant rat. They both just stared in disbelief as Gregor and the rat started to talk.

"Well, I'm assuming your gonna drag me down now aren't you?" asked Gregor, kind of exited.

"Well, well yes, and seeing as to these 2 pups here have see so much already, I'm dragging them to" said Ripred.

"Oh no, bad choice bad choice, you don't wanna do that" responded Gregor

"Well I didn't ask you, know come on" Said Ripred while he literally picked them both up, they were both still frozen in fear and couldn't move.

Seeing that Gregor couldn't stop Ripred, he followed him down into the tunnel. They walked for a few minutes until they came to a hole. Ripred then tossed both Alex and Zoey through the hole, and then jumped himself.

"Oh god, what have I gotten them into? Mom is going to kill me!" Murmured Gregor to himself, he knew he was in for some sort of trouble soon, so he braced, and then he jumped.

* * *

**Well that's the chapter guys! I know it's kind of boring, but it had to be done, but now that Gregor has arrived in the underland, things may start to get more interesting. Now let the Drama begin! So as usual, all responses appreciated and encouraged! See you guys later!**

**R&R peeps,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic-So what you guys think?**

**Zoey-Well you just had to make him go back didn't you!**

**Tytonic- Yes, yes I did**

**Zoey- How dare you!**

**Alex- Zoey, calm down, you know you cant do anything here.**

***Zoey shut up, but was still fuming***

**Gregor- well I'm exited, but pissed about these stupid cliffhangers!**

**Tytonic- well I had to, and seeing as to how I'm pissing everybody off here I'm sending you all back, bye!**

***Everybody looks at Tytonic with looks that would kill somebody***

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**


	7. Chapter 7: A Warm Welcome

**Hello people of FanFiction! I know I haven't updated in a few days, but don't expect me to update as much as I have lately, I've just been having ideas flow through my head like a river, but right now it seems that that river is starting to dry up, and fill up with a sequel. Yes, I said it, a sequel, I've only just started the first story and I'm already planning a sequel. I have more ideas for this sequel then I have for this story anyway, so its weird. Basically the only thing I haven't decided is for the main character (I know, its not Gregor, but it will still be great!) if whether they are going to be a boy or a girl, I will probably leave that up to you guys. So, I have just started a community on fanfiction, it is name ****The Underland Chronicles****, creative right? Well I have filled it with some of my favorite underland stories, and this story as well. If you want to join, you must have a story to post on it, and then you must contact me. I think a pm would work just fine. Well off of one topic and onto another, the story! I'm not very confident in this chapter, I honestly have no clue how to build it up, so I'm just running on vapors here. If it doesn't turn out well or if you guys don't like it I will probably re-write it. The problem here is how to stage the drama between Zoey and Luxa. Thank you guys so much for 500 views! Its been almost 2 week now and a whopping 500?! Well I'm speechless. So I say eyes on the horizon! Forth unto 1,000! So tell me how you guys like the chapter and as usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated! See you guys at the end of the chapter!**

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up, and of course the plot of this story.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 7: A Warm Welcome**

* * *

Seeing that Gregor couldn't stop Ripred, he followed him down into the tunnel. They walked for a few minutes until they came to a hole. Ripred then tossed both Alex and Zoey through the hole, and then jumped himself.

"Oh god, what have I gotten them into? Mom is going to kill me!" Murmured Gregor to himself, he knew he was in for some sort of trouble soon, so he braced, and then he jumped.

* * *

_Gregor has just jumped. . ._

* * *

Falling, falling, falling, still falling. Why did Ripred do this to him? Using echolocation Gregor could see that a bat has already caught all 3 of the others, though both of his friends were still frozen in shock. He would never get used to the sensation of falling, especially since his nightmares always involved him falling to his death.

He could tell by echolocation that he was approaching the ground, or should he say water, due to the fact that he was above the waterway. He knew they would catch him, and that Ripred just intended to scare him, though he wasn't scared, but rather annoyed.

At around 10 feet from the water's surface Gregor felt a bat slip underneath him pulling him up and out of the fall. He was quickly being carried up the the group, and he was fairly certain he could see Zoey and Alex, both Slowly, but surely, grabbing hold of their senses. As Gregor got closer he prepared to Mouth off to Ripred.

"Really Ripred? I know you tried to scare me and all, and even though you failed, do you really have to do that?" Asked Gregor, very irritated.

"Actually yes I did have to do that, you have to get used to falling again, for you may be doing a lot of it during your stay here" Responded Ripred, with a devilish grin on his face. They both knew he had tried to scare Gregor, and yet Ripred came up with some stupid excuse. Why did Gregor ever miss this old rat?

"Well putting that aside, we are coming up quickly on Regalia" Said Ripred, breaking the awkward silence that was starting to form.

It took them around 2 more minutes before Gregor could see light, and a view he had missed all to much, but instead of flying to the palace, they flew around the city to the entrance of the arena, and landed around 100 yards from the entrance.

"Why are we landing here? Shouldn't we go to the palace?" Asked Gregor in confusion.

"Yes, but I have to have some run right? They wont recognize you, at least not the guards. There is a rather large performance going on right now, so it will be fun to see what happens, just don't tell them who you are ok? I have to go tell Luxa that I have talked to you, and that I will meet you at the gateway around midnight, I wan this to be a shock to everybody" Said Ripred with another devilish grin on his face. This type of thing was the reason Gregor had always missed the old rat.

By this time, Alex and Zoey had both regained most of their senses, but were still unable to talk do to shock. He could imagine why, giant rats, giant bats, stone cities. Who wouldn't have a bad reaction to that? Gregor had had a bad reaction as well. Gregor just waved his 2 friends to follow him, and they got the idea and started to put one foot in front of the other.

It took them about 5 minutes to walk the 100 yards, mostly because of his friends stumbling and tripping over rocks due to the darkness. Gregor guessed the could now talk, but were to surprised to want to.

Once Gregor and his friends reached the entrance to the arena, they could hear the loud roar of people cheering on whatever they were watching, probably some sort of sport. After a moment of mentally preparing, they walked through he curtain of moths and into the brightly lit arena. There were bad with riders playing some sort of game, kind of like basketball, just flying on bats instead.

Gregor assumed that he was not expected due to the sudden silence, the large gasp, and the circle of guards that had just surrounded them. Gregor did his best to act like he didn't know what any of this was, but he couldn't act surprised, he had partially expected something similar to this, just not the faces with the intent to kill plastered onto them.

"Umm, Gregor?" murmured Zoey Just loud enough for Gregor to hear, as she clung to his side. They didn't want them to know he was Gregor if this was to be a joke, though Gregor suspected that it wasn't going to be so funny after all.

"What is your purpose here overlander?" Asked the guard who seemed to in charge, addressing Gregor.

Gregor remained silent. He wasn't ignoring the guard, he just hadn't been paying attention, he had been looking at the girl with silver hair and purple eyes, the one that had a golden band on her head. _Luxa._

Gregor assumed it had been a few minutes. This was mostly filled with the guard asking him things, and Gregor not replying. Eventually the guard had had enough of it and put op his hand, signaling something.

Gregor didn't know what it meant at first, but quickly caught on when 3 of the guards moved in on Gregor, 2 with swords held out and the 3rd with binds in his hands, ready to take all 3 of the overlander's prisoner. Gregor wouldn't allow that.

As the first Guard attempted to grab Gregor arm, Gregor grabbed the man wrist, yanked him towards himself, and then quickly with one quick jab to the neck knocked him unconscious. Gregor quickly, with speed only a rager could muster, swung his leg up and connected it to the side of the other guards face. If the kick hadn't knocked him out the impact of his head on the ground did. Gregor then proceeded to whack the guard that had the binds right in the forehead, knocking him out as well. By the time those 3 had gone down, the other guards had finally realized what actually happened, it was all to fast for them to react to.

Only 6 guards remained surrounding them, and the Man that seemed to be in charge stood just outside the circle, watching the whole scene go down. Gregor could feel the full rager coming on, and he let most of it take controls, just enough so that he could still prevent himself from killing the men.

Gregor quickly ducked beneath a sword swinging at him and elbowed the guard in the side of the head, while at the same time brining his left leg up to meet the side of another guards head. In that 1 move he had knocked out 2 guards, yet following that he quickly swept another guard off his feet, smashed his head into the ground, and dodged another sword strike. He grabbed the hilt of the sword, and pushed it right back into the guards head, thus knocking him out as well. He then jumped over a low swing of a sword, and kicked the guard in the gut, and at the same time whacked him in the head, knocking him out as well. All that remained was 1 guard and the Leader of this small team of guards. Lightning fast Gregor slid over the the last guard and jabbed his neck with his hand, knocking him out as swell.

Gregor had done all of this in around a 8 second time period. All who remained was the Leader. He stared at Gregor, and quickly raised his sword into a ready position.

"Well I assume its safe to say that none of us expected that, but now you face your challenge" Said the man in over confidence, Gregor knew that would be his downfall, overconfidence led to destruction, especially in the underland.

The man charged Gregor clumsily, and swung his sword at Gregor, but instead of swing through, he came up short on purpose and brought his elbow back around to meet Gregor's face. Gregor had to admit, the man was fast, but when the elbow swung, it never hit its target, instead the man fell to the ground as Gregor jabbed him in a few places very quickly. The man would never even have the chance to wonder how Gregor had gotten behind him so fast, he was unconscious before he knew what happened.

Gregor knew it was safe to assume that he had shocked everybody, due to the fact that a loud gasp erupted out of the crowd, and everyone in the crowd started whispering to one another. Gregor could see Ripred staring at him from next to Luxa as she whispered into Ripred's ear. He saw Ripred nod, and then jump out of the booth were royalty was seated, and into the center of the arena. This shut everybody up immediately.

"Pick up a sword boy, you may now face your true challenge" Said Ripred with a large grin plastered to his face.

Gregor, using his foot, threw a sword up off of the ground and up into his hand, he walked about a foot before doing the same to another. He now had 2 fairly decent swords, one in each hand. He knew Ripred had planned this battle since the moment they saw each other again. Ripred was going to try to humiliate him in front of an entire crowd.

They both slid into ready positions and started to circle each other, waiting for an opening. It was around 30 seconds before they both sped forward lightning fast and claws met swords, both attacks canceled out by the other. Their faces were about 5 inches from one another.

"Lets put on a show for these people shall we boy?" Asked Ripred, just quiet enough so that only Gregor could hear him.

"I though you would never ask" Responded Gregor, still quiet so only Ripred could hear him.

The 2 stayed int the position, both with huge grins on their faces, weapon on weapon. Gregor knew they were both waiting for the other to make a move, so he decided to end the block, and swung one sword around at Ripred. It was so fast it would have hit any normal Soldier, but Ripred being Ripred, h brought up his claws to block the blow. He almost blocked it when Gregor's sword got yanked down just inches before making contact with the claws. It was then pushed back up, a low that would have gone strait up through the bottom of Ripred's chin if he hadn't kicked him leg up using his foots claws to block the blow just centimeters before it killed him. The fight continued as a back and forth fight like this for around 20 minutes, neither of them obtaining so much as a scratch.

The pattern was soon broken by Gregor blocking a large blow from Ripred, with only 1 of his swords. The blow was so strong that Gregor had to swing up to stop the blow coming down. The blow was so powerful that it snapped the sword in half, thus letting Gregor's now half sword continue forward. Gregor stopped the sword as he held it onto Ripred throat. If this were a real fight, Ripred would have been killed instantly.

Ripred knew he had just lost, and stopped the counter attack that he was swinging, not that mattered, if the fight were real, Gregor would have killed Ripred before the attack came even within feet of Gregor.

Gregor was just as surprised as Ripred, and the crowd was even more surprised. Gregor had just bested the strongest being in the entire underland. Gregor backed off, ignoring the rapid yells and whispers from the crowd.

He backed up and went over to Zoey, he had to put both his arms around her to calm her down. She seemed to be having a panic attack, similar to what Lizzie used to have. After around a minute of hugging her and whispering soothing words into her ear she calmed down and was once again perfectly fine, aside from the fact that she was miles underground surrounded by people that could kill her without a second though in seconds flat. As Gregor stood back up he heard Ripred announcing something to the Crowd, while signaling Gregor over to him. Gregor wasn't concerned about what Ripred had to say, he was more concerned that he had just made it seem like he and Zoey were in love, while Luxa was watching their every move, he didn't know what this would do to whatever was left of their relationship after 4 years.

When Gregor got over to Ripred, he stood beside the rat, as Ripred addressed the entire crown, shutting them all up instantly.

"You may all be concerned that I, your best fighter, has just been bested in a fight by an overlander! I however am not concerned, I may have taken a blow to my pride, but it has done no harm! I am grateful to reintroduce you all to this overlander! I Introduce you all to Gregor, The warrior of legend, the savior of the underland!" Boomed Ripred as he addressed everybody in the arena.

The arena exploded in a tornado of cheers and claps, the savior of the underland had returned.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

Luxa was so shocked when she saw this overlander best Ripred. He had bested the greatest fighter Luxa had ever know, and he was but a mere overlander, was everybody in the overland that good of a fighter? Luxa highly doubted it.

Luxa was sunken deep in an ocean of thoughts when Ripred's voice came ripping through the various sounds that were being thrown around the arena.

"You may all be concerned that I, your best fighter, has just been bested in a fight by an overlander! I however am not concerned, I may have taken a blow to my pride, but it has done no harm! I am grateful to reintroduce you all to this overlander! I Introduce you all to Gregor, The warrior of legend, the savior of the underland!" Boomed Ripred, an actual smile on his face, well thats new.

Luxa's heart stopped at the words that had just flooded into her head. It made so much sense, why he had been able to beat Ripred. It was because they were both rager's, not just Ripred. Only a rager could stand even the slightest chance against Ripred, let alone beat him.

She was filled with joy, yet at the same time nocked over by sorrow. She was ecstatic that Gregor had returned, but also sad due to the fact that he had just displayed what seemed like deep affection to this overland girl. She knew it, somewhere deep inside she knew Gregor would have forgotten her. She should have been able to forget him as well, she should have cut any strings that held them together in anyway whatsoever.

Luxa couldn't old in her emotions much longer, she would have to leave. She was about to turn around and walk away when she saw Gregor turn to her. She stared back at him, she couldn't see any trace of emotion on his face. She couldn't stand to look at him. She knew she had to forget, she knew that even if he still loved her they couldn't be together. They held this gaze until the overland girl noticed the gaze they were throwing at each other. The girl gave Luxa a death glare and grabbed Gregor's hand, pulling him out of the gaze they had been locked in.

Luxa Turned around and walked away, she needed to be alone, she needed to let her emotions out. The feeling she was feeling was worse then when he had left. He had forgotten her, he had forgotten everything they had gone through together. Luxa felt like dying. She felt like life wasn't worth it anymore. She had been fueled on the small possibility that he may return for her eventually. Now he has returned, but with somebody else, and he had forgotten about her. She now wanted only to get this upcoming war over with so that he would leave. So that she could finally begin to heal, so that she could finally begin to move on, for real.

All strings holding the warrior and the queen together had already been thin and weak, but now, it seems that they had just been cut through, destroying anything the 2 may have previously had together.

* * *

**Ohhh ya, that turned out much better then I would have expected, though I think I could have made it better. I love the ending I used to this chapter, how any relationship Gregor and Luxa had was destroyed by a simple misunderstanding. Well there you go to everybody who has been saying not to pair them up immediately. Well now the next few chapters are going to be very interesting, especially since Zoey is like a wedge in between Gregor and Luxa. Well tell me how you guys liked the chapter! As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so write a comment! I want to know what you think of the story! Well I am probably posting a new chapter tomorrow. I am so determined to finish this story, I don't wanna be one of those people that says ill update the next day and then just completely abandon the story. Well I guess ill see you guys soon!**

**R&R people of FanFiction,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Hello Gregor, Hello Luxa**

***Luxa is crying, apparently over Gregor***

***Gregor moves over to her to comfort her and she gets up and runs away crying***

**Gregor- Dude, you just had to didn't you!?**

**Tytonic- *sigh* Gregor, you will understand in due time, its all in the interest of the story, so now before you kill me, or before Luxa hurts herself on modern technology, I'm going to say goodbye to both of you.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- I need like a cage to put them in while here before one of them either destroys my house, or kills me. *sigh***

* * *

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**


	8. Chapter 8: Still Love you

**Well I'm back with another chapter! I know I posted a chapter only yesterday, but I honestly don't care how often I post chapters, I just write and post them when I feel like it. That means I may post 2 today, but I'm not entirely sure. As long as I don't do anything else today I should be able to blow out 2 chapters, 3 if I tried really hard, but I'm not going to push it. I wasn't entirely sure about how the last chapter would go, but if I wasn't sure then then I have no clue now, I only really had the story built up until now, and most of the ending. So I'm just taking a step into the dark here, I have no clue what I'm gonna do in this chapter, but I guess it will kind of flow to me, just like all of my idea do. Well it will all work out in the end, so tell me any suggestions that you guys have, because I'm getting to the point were I may actually need them. Tell me how you guys like this chapter, and as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated. See you guys after the chapter!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I Don't own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 8: Still Love you**

* * *

Luxa Turned around and walked away, she needed to be alone, she needed to let her emotions out. The feeling she was feeling was worse then when he had left. He had forgotten her, he had forgotten everything they had gone through together. Luxa felt like dying. She felt like life wasn't worth it anymore. She had been fueled on the small possibility that he may return for her eventually. Now he has returned, but with somebody else, and he had forgotten about her. She now wanted only to get this upcoming war over with so that he would leave. So that she could finally begin to heal, so that she could finally begin to move on, for real.

All strings holding the warrior and the queen together had already been thin and weak, but now, it seems that they had just been cut through, destroying anything the 2 may have previously had together.

* * *

_10 Minutes later and now in Gregor's point of view. . ._

* * *

The flight back to the palace was very uneventful, and filled with loud cheers from the streets below. Their beloved warrior has returned. Gregor still wasn't sure why Ripred had dragged him down here, though he would have come down on his own anyway. Clearly there was either another prophecy or Ripred had grown soft and missed Gregor very dearly. I would assume the first, probably just another prophecy, some problem that if Gregor doesn't fix it the entire underland will be doomed forever. You know, just he usual type of thing.

Once Gregor landed, he slid of the back of the flier he as on, and thanked him. He then proceeded over to an old man, putting some of his weight onto his cane.

"Vikus! How are you doing?" Asked Gregor as a large smile crept its way onto his face.

"Gregor my boy, it is an honor to welcome you back into Regalia!" Said Vikus as he cheered up at the sight of Gregor.

"Yes well I figure there is a problem if you had Ripred drag me down here, though I would have come down on my own anyway" Explained Gregor.

"Well, we will talk to you about that later, for now you must be starving after that spar with Ripred. Will you join us for supper?" Asked Vikus politely.

"That wold be great. Thank you very much Vikus, though I assume I must go wash p before supper, I'm covered in sweat from that fight" Responded Gregor

"Indeed. Do us all a favor with that, please" Said Vikus. They both laughed.

At that Gregor set off to the washrooms. He got a few cheerful smiles from servant and people that he saw around. Once he got to the washroom he stripped off his cloths and set them neatly on the bench that was positions in the center of the room. He noticed other overland cloths already there to, and he recognized them as Alex's cloths. Gregor made his was over to one of the warm water baths, and settled himself into it. All of his muscles started to relax immediately after touching the water. He then called out to Alex.

"Hey Alex, you there? I saw you cloths out there" shouted Gregor.

"Yes I'm here, and I have to admit I love these baths, much better then what we have" Responded Alex.

"Well I agree with you there, they never stop running either, they are spring fed" Said Gregor

"Well I love them, by the way, whats this purple goo? I think it may be some sort of soap but I'm not sure" Asked Alex.

"Yes, its soap. Make sure you completely scrub yourself clear, if our worlds smell is carried with us enemies can smell us from miles away, and believe me, you don't want that" Responded Gregor

"Well good, because I've already washed my hair with the stuff. You know dude, that fight you had with that rat was intense! Were did you learn to fight like that?" Asked Alex.

"I told you, I'm a rager, I'm a natural born killer. The only hard part about fighting for me is controlling myself. Now I assume they are going to have us go to training tomorrow, so I assume they are gonna shove a sword into your arms and make you use it. Its not easy training so you really have to pay attention, don't be like you are in school, this could be the difference between life and death" Said Gregor.

"Oh, well I guess that's important, so when is dinner? Im starving!" Asked Alex.

"They wont start without us, but right after we are done here, and I don't know about you but I think I'm just about done" Said Gregor.

"Yes, same here, let get going, you go first, I don't want to watch you completely naked getting dressed" Said Alex.

"Got it, by the way, I hope you didn't like what you were wearing, because its to risky to keep it, they burned it all" Said Gregor.

"Aww man really? I just got new shoes to! They costed $120!" Said Alex angrily.

"Well I can take you to the museum, you can take thousands of dollars from there if you want. They don't sue the same currency as we do, so they don't care if you take any, they also have a bunch of cool things in there, so you could take any of it" Said Gregor.

"Well sounds like my kind of place! How about we go after dinner? I mean if we don't have anything else to do" Asked Alex.

"Sure, works for me, though I have a feeling I'm gonna need to do some catching up with some guys first" Said Gregor.

"Got it, let's go" Said Alex.

Gregor and alex got dressed once more, and Gregor noticed that Ares claw and his picture of Luxa and him were still there. Guess that Somebody knew that those 2 items were very important to him.

"Hey dude, what's that picture of? I've noticed it before but never seen what's on it" Asked Alex.

"Well. . . Well, I kind of don't want to talk about it okay? Its kind of personal, I'll let you see it eventually, but it still isn't the right time, I need to do somethings first" Responded Gregor.

"Well don't think I will forget, I'm sick of secrets, so your gonna show me eventually one way of another" Said Alex.

With that Gregor and Alex Set off to dinner. They both got more cheerful smiles from anybody they passed. Gregor must have really been missed if he was getting so much attention. Once they got to dinner Gregor noticed that everybody was already seated, waiting.

"Sorry we took so long, we got caught up in conversation" Apologized Gregor to everybody around the table.

Gregor went over to his seat to sit down, Zoey on his left, and Alex sat down to his right. Gregor then he realized that somebody was missing.

"Hey Vikus, were is Luxa?" Asked Gregor.

"Well. . . since you fight with Ripred, she refuses to leave her sleeping chamber. Anybody that enters gets something thrown a them" Responded Vikus.

"Well why? She is the queen, isn't it her duty to you know, not do that?" Asked Gregor.

"Well we do not know why she is like that for sure, but we have our guesses. Either way we will need her later so somebody is going to have to drag her out of her room" Responded Vikus.

"Well okay then. . . So Mareth! Hows it been going?" Asked Gregor, trying to change the uncomfortable topic.

"Very well Gregor, aside form recent troubles very well. Overall the underland is at peace with all know species, for the most part" said Mareth

"All know species? Is there like a new species?" Asked Gregor.

"Well, we will talk about that later" responded Mareth

"Oh and by the way, were is Howard?" Asked Gregor.

"He is at the fount, no doubt on his way here now due to word of your arrival" Responded Vikus.

"Well ' good, I'll get to see almost everybody again while I'm here" Said Gregor.

After a dinner full of a lot of friendly conversation, and a lot of questions about the underland from Gregor's friends, Gregor and Alex set off to the museum to look around.

"Well this place is a lot cooler then you made it sound Gregor" Said Alex.

"Yes well I'm terrible at explaining things. When we are in the museum grab some flashlights and batteries to, as you can see they only have torches down here" Said Gregor.

"Oh, good idea, I guess that may help out a lot" said Alex.

"Ok here we are, the museum" Said Gregor.

They both walked in and started to walk around looking at stuff. Gregor went strait over to the spot were he and Luxa shared their first kiss. He then noticed the stack of photos was still there, and then he had an idea. He took the stack of photos ad shoved them in his pocket so he didn't loose them. He spend around 4 minute looking around but he finally found a photo book. He slid out all of the photos that were already in it, mostly family vacations of whoever's book this was. He then slid all of the photos from the stack into the slot. Once every photo was in, he slid the photo of him and Luxa dancing into the slot on the cover of the book. He then wrote, using a sharpie he found "This is were I will think of you".

Gregor then proceeded to put the book into a small perfect sized box he found laying around, and he closed the box with duct tape.

"Hey dude whats that for?" Asked Alex as he walked over. He had a hunting belt on with 3 flashlights strapped to it, and batteries in slots that were originally meant for bullets.

"Uhhh, nothing, nothing at all" Responded Gregor, not wanting to talk to Alex about it.

"Ya, sure, of corse I'll believe that" Said Alex his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well I've got some things to do, its pretty late so why don't you go to bed? We will have a big day of training tomorrow" Said Gregor, switching topics.

"Umm, ok? Ya your right, I don't want to be tired when I'm using a sword for the first time ever" Said Alex as he walked out of the museum.

Gregor looked around for a minute until he found a jumbo sharpie, and on the top of the box he wrote "Luxa". He then Proceeded to make his way over to the royal chambers. He knew he wouldn't be able to get past the guards without a royal family member with him, but he had to try anyway.

"Halt right there, no body may enter the Royal chambers without proper permission" Said one of the 2 guards on either side of the hallways entrance.

"I just need to give something to the queen" Responded Gregor.

"I don't care, you may not enter" Said the same guard.

"Gregor? Gregor! How are you doing!" Yelled an 11 year old halflander as he ran up and hugged Gregor from behind.

"I'm doing Great Hazard, you?" Asked Gregor.

"Great! Aside from not being able to get near Luxa that is. Now I'm assuming your trying to see her?" Asked Hazard.

"Well from what I hear nobody can see her without getting something thrown at them. I just wanted to give this to her" Said Gregor, holding out the package.

"Well its late so I'm going to bed, I'll slide this into her room for you okay?" Asked Hazard.

"That would be great, thanks Hazard" Said Gregor.

"No problem, it might improve her mood, she's an absolute wreck right now" Said Hazard.

"Okay, goodnight Hazard" Said Gregor as he started to walk away, back to his room.

"Ok goodnight" Responded Hazard as he disappeared into Luxa's room.

Gregor walked for about 5 minutes until he found his room, when he went in he slipped on some pajamas and fell onto his bed. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

Once I got back to my room from the arena, I began to sob as tears came down my cheeks. I don't know how long I was crying but eventually I heard Vikus call for me. I ignored him completely.

After around 3 more times calling me he walked into the room and was meet by a book flying from my hand at him. He immediately retreated out of my room with a shocked yelp. I'm fairly certain he got the message because I could hear his footsteps leaving the royal chambers. Once again I lost track of time completely, though I had another book still ready in my hand.

After around what I would say was 20 minutes I had to throw another book at Hazard as he tried to enter, although I regretted it I didn't really care. I can't say how much longer I was laying there. I still laid there when I heard some footsteps. I got another book ready, though nobody ever came in. All that came in was a box, somebody slid a box through the doorway and just left it there. I could see my name written in big letters right across the top of it.

I didn't move at first. I didn't care about what anybody else did right now. That was the case until I realized that it was not an underland box, that it was closed with a sticky gray overland strip, and a weird brown papery box.

Once I realized this I quickly got out of my bed and snatched the box. I went back over to my bed and sat down with my legs crossed. It took me a minute but I eventually managed to rip the gray strip off of the box. The box was then open able. I lifted the 2 flaps covering whatever was hidden inside the box. What I saw made me gasp.

I saw a leather looking book with the picture of me and Gregor dancing on the cover of it, and below the picture I saw something written. "This is were I will think of you". I quickly opened the book and could see through out the pages the pictures of me and Gregor in the museum together secured to the page by some smooth clear substance. It was sort of like flexible glass that couldn't shatter.

What I assumed to be hours I looked through the book over and over again. The pages I always stayed on for the longest was the final page. It had 4 simple words written on it. Only 4 simple words. But these 4 words were what I needed to hear the most.

"I still love you"

* * *

**Well that's what I call an ending. I think this chapter turned out very well. Though not much really happened it still needed to be done, and think I still made it enjoyable, and not overly boring. I still have no clue how I'm going to fill the middle of the entire story, though I still know that it will work out in the end. So tell me what you guys think of this chapter! Good bad? What do you think? I need to know your thought if I'm going to continue this story! So thank you guys for now 600 views! I only hit 500 yesterday. I got a total of 102 views yesterday. That's insane! This story is getting very successful very fast, and I hope it continues to grow more and more! So as I said with the last chapter, I have started a Underland Chronicles community group! I am still looking for people to join, people that I can share story ideas with, and have those people share their story ideas with me! So contact me if you want to join the community, though you need a story to actually work on if you want to be in the group! I know at the beginning of the chapter I said I might post another chapter today, and I still MIGHT. I defiantly wont until I get another review to know about this chapter, but I might not be in the mood to write later, so don't get to hyped up for it! So as usual tell me your thoughts! All responses are encouraged and appreciated, so I guess ill see you guys later! Bye!**

**R&R peeps,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Gregor- what?! Why am I in a cage? What do you think I am an animal?**

**Tytonic- No, your a rager that gets really pissed at me. The truth is that I'm kind of afraid you will hurt me and try to take control of the story, I can't let that happen.**

**Gregor- Why would I do that?!**

**Tytonic- Well you already tried to attack me once, and it fairly obvious that whoever is at this computer controls the story.**

**Gregor- Well I must admit you got me on that one**

**Tytonic- Well yes, yes I did. Now for some good news. Luxa got your package, and rad through the whole thing.**

**Gregor- really? What does she think?**

**Tytonic- Well that's just it, I can't tell you, you'll have to find out yourself.**

**Gregor- Uhhh I'm sick of all of this, just tell me.**

**Tytonic- Nope, and I know you would make me, but seeing as to the fact that your in a cage and I'm not. . .**

**Gregor- Just send me back in, I cant wait for tomorrow, and I'm tired.**

**Tytonic- Ok you got it, bye.**

**Gregor- bye.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Well he took to being in a cage surprisingly well.**

* * *

**See you peeps later,**

**-Tytonic**


	9. Chapter 9: Training

**Hello people of FanFiction and welcome back to chapter 9 of ****Gregor and the War of the Myriapods****! So it turns out that my story now has 740 views! Guess how many of them I got yesterday? Well if you guessed 123 then you would be correct! A whopping 123 views in 1 day? ' insane! Well its only going up form here, so keep it up guys, I do my part you do yours right? So, back to the story, I still have mostly no clue what this chapter will be about, so I'm shooting the gun blind again aren't I? I know what I'm doing for the beginning for this chapter, but for the most part the middle and end are a giant blur, though I can get an outline of what it might be, though I usually change the chapter a lot from what it was suppose to be, like in the story, when Gregor went to the underland, he went back a chapter late! Well please give me any and all ideas you have for this story, because I still have only a vague idea how the rest of it will go, though I know how most of the end will go. Okay, enough of my endless rambling and onto the story. As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so tell me whats in your head! See you guys later!**

**Bye bye peeps,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 9: Training**

* * *

I saw a leather looking book with the picture of me and Gregor dancing on the cover of it, and below the picture I saw something written. "This is were I will think of you". I quickly opened the book and could see through out the pages the pictures of me and Gregor in the museum together secured to the page by some smooth clear substance. It was sort of like flexible glass that couldn't shatter.

What I assumed to be hours I looked through the book over and over again. The pages I always stayed on for the longest was the final page. It had 4 simple words written on it. Only 4 simple words. But these 4 words were what I needed to hear the most.

"I still love you"

* * *

_The next morning. . ._

* * *

Luxa had had one of her first decent night sleeps in years, though it was still pretty crappy on a regular persons standard. She actually had a dream, not a nightmare or nothing at all, though once again, it wasn't very nice. It was just a wide open area, with random creatures of the underland wandering around. Luxa was also wandering, she seemed to be looking for somebody, though she didn't know who, but she still couldn't find that somebody. When she had awoken, she laid in bed for sometime. Eventually, she groggily slid out of bed and went to her dresser. She picked out some standard cloths, though compared to the civilians they were very nice cloths. She then groggily dragged herself through the doorway, out of her bedroom and into her living room. She noticed 2 things that were out of place. The first was that unlike any other day, there was a tray of food sitting on the table in the middle of the room. The second was the 11 year old boy laying on the couch reading a decent sized book, maybe 800 pages or so, and he was awkwardly wearing a clunky helmet on his head.

"Hazard, why are you wearing that ridiculous thing? What purpose does it serve?" Asked Luxa in great confusion.

"Well I was only preparing for a possible airborne book, I don't want to get hit in the head, again, it hurt enough the first time!" Said Hazard, extreme irritation in his voice.

"Oh that, yes, sorry about that, but I don't think I will be throwing anymore items at you, at least not for now" Responded Luxa, now in a surprisingly good mood (she just remembered the scrapbook, though its probably tangled up in her blankets somewhere).

"Well I can see your in a good mood today, and I think I can guess why, it's whatever was in that box right? Well Gregor had me give it to you, since the guards wouldn't let him in" Responded Hazard.

"Oh, and by the way, since nobody was brave enough to wake you up, you missed luncheon, so they had food made, and put on the table here, as you can see" Said Hazard.

Oh great, she missed what might be one of her only chances to see Gregor today. If she eat fast, she might have enough time to get down to the arena and see him before training is over.

"So, how long ago did training start, Hazard?" Asked Luxa.

"Yeah, well I figured you would say that, and yes, if you hurry you might have time to see him, might" Responded Hazard.

"Thanks Hazard, see you later" Said Luxa.

"Wait, aren't you gonna eat? You didn't eat at all yesterday, you need something!" Said Hazard.

Luxa walked over to the table and took a piece of underland bread with some underland butter on it. She literally jammed it in her mouth and swallowed, she then took a swig of water, and jogged out of the door. She continued to jog for a few minutes until she came across the council room. Remembering her council meeting she had this morning, she took a minute break to slow her rapid breathing, once her breathing was normal again, she regained her posture and strolled on into the council room.

"Oh, very nice of you to grace us with your presence my queen, we were starting to think that you wouldn't show" Said one of the council members.

"Well I seemed to have slept in a bit, but nonetheless I am here now, so may we proceed with the meeting?" Asked Luxa, going from silly 15 year old to a regal queen in an instant.

"Very well, so the matter we have gathered to discuss is the subject of our new enemy. We have been researching the body brought in from your Highness's trip into the uncharted lands, and we have discovered many different weaknesses and strong points in their makeup" Said another council member.

Luxa really hated these council members, but she had to admit, they really did help sometimes, and usually they did more harm then good, but this wasn't one of those times, at least Luxa didn't think so.

"Very good to hear, now may we hear these facts?"Asked Luxa.

"Indeed. The main weakness we have discovered is very troubling. It seems that there is only one weakness, and that is the spot around the neck, were the head joins the body, the armor is much thinner there, thus allowing us to cut through it. The problem is that not only is it a very small area, but the amount of force required to cut through the armor here is enormous, and our current weapons will have enough strength to cut through, but it seems that it will shatter the sword, and nothing less. Some of the worse news is that they can walk on any surface, due to their many legs. Another seems the be that their shell, is so strong that at any spot, save the neck, it can only be scratched. The shell is much stronger then iron. Some more good news on this matter seems to be that the new metal that Ripred has discovered, steel, has been successfully created, and as you requested we have the first sword of its kind here" Said another council member.

The council member then proceeded to raise his hand in a signal, presumably signaling the sword to be delivered to Luxa's side. Out of another door Mareth then proceeded over to Luxa, holding a sword, in a very nice decorated sheath.

"Your majesty, your sword" Said Mareth as he bowed down to present it to Luxa. Both him and Luxa knew that they were friends, and that Mareth didn't need to treat Luxa like this, but in front of the council he really didn't have a choice, he could be severely punished, or tossed in jail fi he didn't treat her as queen, but of coarse in a few weeks once Luxa was full queen, she would be able to counteract that punishment.

Luxa proceeded to take the sword out of his hands. She then slid it from its sheath. It was a surprisingly light, very very sharp, and much stronger sword then any other sword she had ever used. She swung it around a few times, and found it was much nicer to use then another she had ever used.

"Thank you, Mareth, you may go" Said Luxa.

"The thanks is mine" Said Mareth as he stood up and left the room.

"So, continuing on with our meeting, this creature has come to be named a Myriapod, its has many legs, 2 sharp claws on the end of its tail, extremely tough armor, and its jaws are much like the cutter's, but unlike the cutter's, they have enough poison in their fangs to kill around 100 men, with one drop. They have enough leg strength to jab into the toughest rock, meaning they would be able to walk up the palace walls with ease. From information gathered, and witnesses account, it could take anywhere from around 100 to 200 men to take out one, but of coarse Ripred, and we suspect the warrior, can take out many with ease" Said one of the council members.

Luxa thought about this for a few moments, and realized that if they were to beat this foe, they would need a force much stronger then they currently had. All of the underland was once again in danger.

The meeting went on for around another 20 minutes, though it was mostly hopeless arguing and yelling at each other about what to do about the new threat rising in the uncharted lands. Luxa made a few points saying that they would need to make new weapons in order to beat this new enemy, and that the new metal, steel, alone wouldn't be enough to beat them. Luxa ended the meeting by saying they all needed time to think, so they should reschedule the meeting for another day.

By this time Luxa realized that training only had around 10 minutes left, so even though she wouldn't have time to actually train she would still be able to see Gregor for a short while. She was already in casual clothing, and she didn't have enough time to train so she didn't need to change into training cloths, so she set off strait to highhall. When she got there, she let out a loud earsplitting whistle, and jumped as high into the air as she possibly could. When she came back down she landed on the back of a golden bat. Luxa and Aurora greeted each other and set off to the arena. Luxa knew it would take a few minutes to get there, probably around 6-8 minutes. Luxa knew that if she got there, she would be there at the last second, and might actually miss Gregor.

Once Luxa actually got to the arena, everybody was finishing up and cleaning up, except Gregor and Ripred. Zoey and Alex, Gregor's 2 overland friends, were standing on the side watching Gregor and Ripred go at it in a spar. Luxa didn't want to interrupt the fight so she found her way to a seat in the stands and started to watch the fight.

Gregor seemed to be much stronger and better at fighting than he had the previous day, but Luxa figured that was because yesterday was probably the first time in 4 years he has held a sword, and now today he has gotten used to it once more. Gregor and Ripred were really going at it, it was so unbelievably fast that Luxa could barley make out what was happening. If this fight was between anybody except Gregor and Ripred, the foe would have been dead within the first second of fighting. The fight went on for how knows how long, it was at least another 30 minutes and the 2 were still going at it, and showing no sign of tiering either. Any other person would have dropped to the ground in exhaustion at this point.

The fight showed no sign of letting up when Gregor caught a sight of Luxa. Their eyes met, and at that moment, Ripred took advantage of Gregor hesitation and socked Gregor in the side of the head, knocking him out cold, and the limb body of the great warrior fell to the floor, motionless.

* * *

**Gregor's Point of View**

* * *

"Okay, goodnight Hazard" Said Gregor as he started to walk away, back to his room.

"Ok goodnight" Responded Hazard as he disappeared into Luxa's room.

Gregor walked for about 5 minutes until he found his room, when he wen in he slipped on some pajamas and fell onto his bed. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

* * *

_The Next Morning. . ._

* * *

Gregor awoke the next morning having a decent night of sleep, and an actual dream, crappy, but yet still a real dream. Gregor was in a large open field with amazing green grass. It was a slightly hilly and a nice cool temperature with a slight breeze. He was walking, just walking, and nothing else. He could swear he heard a familiar voice calling out to him in the breeze, but yet he could pinpoint were it was coming from. He couldn't put his figure on who's voice it was either, though either way it was calling out to him, and he knew he had to find were it was.

Gregor's eyes snapped open to Alex shaking him rapidly.

"Gregor! Gregor wake up, come on we got training to go to, but first Breakfast" Yelled Alex right into Gregor's face.

"Okay okay, I'm. Any time to wash up before breakfast?" Asked Gregor.

"Yeah, they wont start without us, so hurry up" Said Alex.

Alex then turned around and left the room, leaving a sleepy warrior to lay on the bed and roll around a couple of times before dragging himself to the washrooms.

Gregor got down to the washroom, still in his pajamas. He got a few weird looks, but nobody dared to question the warrior and his pajama ways. By the time he got down to he washroom he was fully awake and ready to face an army. He slid out of his pajamas and left them on the bench in the center of the washroom, next to Alex's stuff. Gregor slid down into the warm steamy water of one of the baths.

"Hey Alex hows it going?" Called out Gregor.

"Good, though I am wondering what we are going to do in training, I'm assuming you already know, can you brief me on it?" Called Alex back from another bath somewhere to Gregor's right.

"Yes I can, seeing as to the fact that you have never held a sword, I'm assuming that they will run you through the basics of fighting. Basic attacks and blocks, stuff that everybody has to know. Once your done that, they will probably have you try the blood balls, though you don't have to, I'm gonna force you to anyway, from what I have heard I'm the only one to ever hit all 15 of the balls. They line up 3 cannons facing you, each filled with 5 golf ball sized balls of red liquid. They will shoot all of the balls at you and you have to see how many you can hit. For people just starting, like you, they don't expect very many, maybe 2-3" Explained Gregor.

"Well how many did you hit your first time?" Asked Alex.

"Well I'm a rager, so I hit all 15 my first time, though I freaked out over it, I hate violence, and I only use it when necessary" Said Gregor.

"Okay then. So what up with you and Zoey? I know your not into her like she is into you, but she seems to be all over you since we got here, I mean more then usual, I also noticed you staring at that girl, is there any chance you have like a crush on her? Dude you should go after it" Said Alex.

"Well I have no clue about Zoey, I have noticed it to, I guess she's really trying to make a move on me, before anything bad happens. As to that girl, her name is Luxa, and as you know she's queen, so I couldn't be with her anyway, anybody who weds her will become king. Before you say it, she's almost 16, so she will be forced to wed on her birthday, whether she likes the man or not. As to do I like her, suppose I should tell you know, I can't keep it in forever. Yes I like her, she is the girl who I had my first kiss with, though that was 4 years ago, and I don't know how she feels anymore" Said Gregor, doing a fair job of hiding the emotion in his voice.

"Well I don't even know what to say to that, just go for it, what can you loose here? It might be a hopeless attempt, but what else will you do? Its not like she will hate you, you have saved her life so many times, so there is no way she will hold it against you" Said Alex.

"Yes, I suppose your right, but I have yet to really talk to her, and with her schedule, I might never get the chance to talk to her, and nothing you say will keep me from being nervous" Said Gregor

"Yes, well good luck with that, so I'm done here, let's go to breakfast now, I'm starving" Said Alex.

Gregor and Alex both got out of the baths and got dressed in the new cloths that they found waiting for them. As they were leaving the room Gregor broke the silence.

"Wait Alex, here, you should see this" Said Gregor as he handed a copy of his picture over to Alex (He had put the original into the scrap book).

"Holy crap, this is the happiest I've ever seen you, you are also 12, so I'm assuming you really missed this place" Said Alex as he handed the picture back to Gregor.

"More then you can ever imagine" Said Gregor as they both made there way over to the dinning room.

Once they both got there, like the previous day, they saw everybody, accept Luxa who was absent once again, sitting around the table waiting. Gregor took his usual seat in-between Alex and Zoey. Everybody was about halfway done eating when Gregor broke the awkward silence.

"So, why is Luxa missing again? Still in her room I assume?" Asked Gregor, he noticed a very small smile creep up onto Alex's face.

"Well she was in a very deep sleep, and frankly due to her behavior last night nobody was brave enough to wake her, not even Ripred, and that is truly saying something" Responded Vikus.

"Well if Ripred wont, there is no way I want to, that is if I want to live" Said Gregor.

"Personally I believe that you have the greatest chance of not getting killed waking her, but I fully understand your fear on the matter. Last time I tried to wake her, I had a bump from a book on my forehead for a week" Said Vikus.

Once everybody was done eating Vikus announced that it was time for training. Every body proceeded over to highhall, were they all mounted up on fliers and began the flight over to the arena for training.

Once they all landed, they all thanked their bats as the bats flew away, and proceeded over to the weapons rack. Gregor chose a decent length sword with good balance and good weight. Alex, having never used a sword before, chose a sword most similar to Gregor's sword. Finally Zoey, having never used a weapon before either, chose to take a bow with some arrows, and went over to another girl for archery training.

"Overlander's!" Called a man as he walked over to Alex and Gregor.

"You two will be training with me, though warrior, I assume you surpass me by a great amount, but we shall see, and by the way, my name is Warrick" Said Warrick.

Warrick then proceeded to teach the basics to Alex, which were very simple, and he didn't do to bad at. They did this while Gregor sat to the side giving Alex tips on what to do.

"So, you seem to have the basics down. George! Come over here please. You will be Alex's opponent in a spar, please show him how to spar first, then fight each other. Warrior, you will be my opponent in a spar" Said Warrick as he position himself for a spar.

Gregor and Warrick stood facing each other as they began to circle, looking for an opening. When Warrick started to approach Gregor, Gregor quickly ducked under a blow coming from the left, and kicked Warrick's feet out from underneath him. Warrick was back p to his feet in an instant, but using speed only a rager can muster up Gregor was behind him with a sword to the back of his neck before he even had his hands back onto the ground to push himself back up.

"Well, I knew you were good, but I though I could last at least a little bit longer then that. Wow, and I'm in the top 10 fighters of Regalia, but then again, now that you beat Ripred your number 1 and he is number 2, while I'm at number 9" Said Warrick in disappointment.

"Wait, Regalia has a top 10 fighters list? Since when?" Asked Gregor.

"Well I would say it was about 5 months after you left the underland, Ripred had the idea. To determine the first top 10, we had 10 separate competitions. The 10 winners then went into spars against each other. Ripred won by miles against Hayden, Queen Luxa's to-be fiancé. Most people have seen Hayden since, his pride was so destroyed when he lost that he went into intense training. He faced off against Ripred once again, and actually almost won, though he still had no chance. Since then he has improved even more, though he recently got an injury that he is in the process of healing from. From what I hear I was a very bad wound, and he almost died from it, if it weren't for dirt shoved in his wound, he would have bled to death" Said Warrick, not noticing Gregor flinch when he said the Hayden was Luxa's fiancé.

"Well then I guess I am number 1 on the list, due to the fact that I beat Ripred, though if he beats me I will become number 2 I presume right?" Asked Gregor.

"Yes indeed it is so, though I believe in around a month they will be hosting a new contest to decide a new top 10. The current top 10 will be allowed to enter" Said Warrick.

"Well I'm gonna enter that, though I have a feeling if I want to keep a good reputation as warrior I have to enter" Said Gregor.

Warrick had started to open his mouth when somebody called out loudly that blood balls were about to begin. 3 cannons were being wheeled out into the middle of the arena. It took about 20 minutes but once everybody save Gregor and Alex were done, the highest anybody had gotten was Warrick with a respectable 8 balls hit.

When Gregor forced Alex out to the cannons he argued, but with some encouragement from the other people training he went out and began. It was quick, but after it ended 4 split balls lay on the ground covered with red liquid.

"Well that was amazing for a first time!" Said Gregor as he walked up to Alex.

"Thanks, I feel great about it myself. Now for you to go" Said Alex.

"Okay got it. Hey, can anybody get me 3 more cannons out here?" Shouted Gregor.

Everybody looked shocked, but knowing he is the warrior, they dragged 3 more out, and made a circle of cannons, with Gregor in the middle of it.

When the cannons finally started to shoot blood balls out at Gregor, the rage took over. He could now fully control the rager, though he could use some practice. When the rager took over he controlled it and hit all 30 balls coming strait at him. Once he had finished everybody stared at him, shocked, but then began to clap and cheer for him.

"Holy crap dude, I know you the warrior and all, but you hit 30 while I only hit 4!" Said Alex, shocked.

"Well you know, I didn't expect to hit all 30, though I knew I would hit a lot of them" said Gregor, not that shocked but still slightly surprised.

With that everybody settled down and started to clean up. Since Gregor knew where nothing went he just sat down on a bench and watched the clean up. He and Alex chatted for a few minutes until Ripred strolled into the arena.

"Boy! Get over here, I want a rematch" Shouted Ripred from across the arena.

Everybody froze at this and turned towards the 2 rager's preparing for battle. There were no words exchanged, but the 2 just started to circle, looking for an opening. It began so unbelievably fast that nobody knew what truly happened in the battle. It was all a blur, the 2 strongest forces in the underland going head to head once again. After around 5 minutes everybody began to clean up again, avoiding Ripred and Gregor, so they didn't get hit by a stray swing.

Once everybody was finished cleaning up, only Gregor, Ripred, Alex, and Zoey were left in the arena. The battle went on for around another 20 minutes or so, neither of the rager's showing any sign of letting up or tiring. Gregor was in full force, and could feel Ripred slowly giving in when, our or the corner of his eye, he saw Luxa watching him. They held each others gaze for a moment before Gregor felt a sharp pain in the side of his head. He held Luxa's gaze for another moment before he fell to the ground. Then suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

**So tell me what you guys think about this chapter, it's by far the longest chapter I have made yet. It's kind of like 2 chapters in one, though I think it just makes the whole thing much better then if it was only 1 persons point of view. I think it turned out great, much better then I assumed it would. I didn't even have any clue what would go on in this chapter, it just kind of flowed out of my head and into the story. Well since I have the TV on in the background, it took me like 8 hours to finish this chapter, mostly because old movie that I have not seen for years like ****The Incredibles**** and ****Robots**** came on, so I had to watch them. I know they are kid movies, but I haven't seen them for so long, so how could I resist? I mean I could even remember some of the biggest details on it all. So as usual all responses are encourages and appreciated, so give me your ideas and thoughts! See you guys later!**

**R&R people,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Okay, Ripred the cage if for Gregor not you, so don't take it personally, I know you could break out if you tried.**

**Ripred- For the boy? Well somebody seems afraid.**

**Tytonic- well yeah, he could kill me faster then I could yell for help, and he seems to get mad at me a lot, so I don't want to take any chances.**

**Ripred- Well good luck there, I doubt the cage will work forever though.**

**Tytonic- Yeah, thanks**

**Gregor- Well, why did you have to make Ripred Knock me out? Really? I would have won if you didn't do that!**

**Tytonic- Well you saw Luxa, you stared at her, that's your mistake, I can only make you do things that you would really do, so you would have gotten distracted anyway.**

**Gregor- I hate logic.**

**Tytonic- Well follow it, don't try to defy it, and you might be able to control your rager better.**

**Ripred- Well that's a good tip I never though of.**

**Tytonic- True, but you never really give many tips anyway, so it doesn't matter if you thought of it or not, I said it first.**

**Ripred- True, now I'm starving, put me back in with a cart of shrimp and cream sauce before I actually break out of the cage.**

**Tytonic- Got it, see you later.**

***Ripred snorts***

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- That went well.**

* * *

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**


	10. Chapter 10: Together Once More

**Soooo I'm back, and I brought a little friend! His name would be chapter 10! So its been only a little bit over 2 weeks, and I'm already at almost a thousand view! Currently, as I'm writing this story, the view count lays at 980! At this rate by the end of the day I will get over 1000 views on this story! I mean like yesterday, I got a whopping 144 views! In one day, that's insane, and I never imagined my story would take off so fast! So thank you all for this, this is amazing! So, currently I'm trying to get a book cover for this story, I know it may be pointless, but it would be cool. I already have the artist for it (my mom xD) and I should have the cover soon, though I don't have even close to an exact date. So, as usual I have no clue whats going to be in this chapter, though I think I like it that way now, since every time I don't know how a chapter is going to go, it goes great, so I shall welcome my blank mind! So, tell me what all of you guys think of this chapter, cause I can go nowhere without your feedback. Love it, hate it? Tell me, I don't care if you respond with hate, just as long as you tell me how I can improve the story! So as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated. See you guys after the chapter!**

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up, and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 10: Together Once More**

* * *

The fight showed no sign of letting up when Gregor caught a sight of Luxa. Their eyes met, and at that moment, Ripred took advantage of Gregor hesitation and socked Gregor in the side of the head, knocking him out cold, and the limb body of the great warrior fell to the floor, motionless.

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_Right when the body hit the floor. . ._

* * *

Luxa couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Gregor was the warrior, and he had already proven that he was a better fighter then Ripred was, but yet he had just been knocked out by Ripred. That didn't even matter whether he lost or not, he was lying on the ground knocked out cold showing no signs of movement.

Luxa sprang into action, she leaped out of the stands and into the arena. She jogged over to Gregor, were his 2 overland friends were both checking if he was ok. Ripred was already walking away, not even giving a second though as to whether he should go help Gregor.

Luxa was just kneeling down to see if Gregor was ok, though it was clear he was out cold, when the overland girl said something.

"Why are _you _here?" Asked Zoey.

"What do you mean why am I here?" Asked Luxa back.

"I mean, I don't trust you around him, so get away!" Snapped Zoey.

"What, do you think I would hurt him?! If anybody here shouldn't be trusted here it's you, how many times have you saved his life? How many times has he saved your life?" Snapped Luxa back.

"So? Who would he trust more? Me, one of his best friends, or you, some stupid little girl? He wouldn't want your help!" Yelled Zoey back.

* * *

**Alex's Point of View**

* * *

Alex was still standing there, trying to comprehend what was going on. He quickly realized that this was only going to get nastier the longer it went on, so he decided he had to intervene.

"Ok ok girls, calm down, I can see we are both mad here, but can we pay attention to the body on the ground below us?" Said Alex, doing his best to help.

"Who are you to say that? You don't know him half as well as I do!" Yelled Luxa back, completely ignoring Alex.

Alex could tell that this was getting out of hand very very fast, and that he really needed to do something, because it was only getting worse. He had seen chick fights in his school before, and they aren't something you wanna see.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" yelled Alex at the top of his breath.

Both Luxa and Zoey shut up, and looked at Alex, though their hate for each other was still present in their eyes. Alex could tell that he only had both of their attention for a few moments before all hell broke loose, so he got right to the point.

"Ok, Gregor is lying on the floor, possibly seriously injured, and you two are arguing over who he would trust more? I can see you both have little school-girl crushes but cant we help him before you guys kill each other?" Said Alex.

Zoey got even angrier at this, though Luxa only got confused, since she had no clue what a school-girl crush was. Both girls remained silent, but got the point and started to pick Gregor up.

Luxa let out a earsplitting whistle, and waited for Aurora to appear. Once Aurora landed Next to them, she immediately got the message and allowed the humans to lay Gregor down on her back. Luxa climbed up onto Aurora's back and positioned herself behind Gregor, so that he wouldn't fall off.

"No, I wont let you take him away if I'm not there" Said Zoey.

Luxa ignored her comment completely and Aurora took to the air, leaving Alex and Zoey behind.

"Who does she think she is!? Whats her deal?" Said Zoey, very pissed that Luxa completely ignored her.

"Well, for one she is the queen, and two, well, I think it would be better for you to find out yourself" Said Alex, hesitating a bit before finishing.

"Wait, she's the queen?" Asked Zoey, surprised.

"Yes, I though you would have noticed the band of gold on her head" Said Alex.

"Ok, well what about two? What do you know that your keeping from me?" Asked Zoey, irritation in her voice.

"Like I said, it would be better if you discovered it yourself, but your not gonna like it" Said Alex.

"What do you mean I wont like it? Just tell me!" Said Zoey, getting very irritated.

"Oh my god, lay off ok? Just ask Gregor or Luxa or something ok? It wouldn't be right if I told you" said Alex as Zoey stormed off, the anger radiating from her like a heater.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

They were still on their way over to the palace, were they would get Gregor medical attention for what might be a serious concussion. Gregor had shifted a few times, stirring in what was probably a horrible nightmare. He had also mumbled a few things like Ares, Luxa, Howard and other various names of underlanders. Luxa couldn't help but feel pity for him. He had lost so much to the underland, and yet he was still going to be dragged into another war. He had lost his bond, he had lost any hint of a real childhood that he ever had, and he was probably going to be separated from his family once and for all in order to end this war. This place had been so bad to him, yet he was still willing to risk everything for it, why? If Luxa wanted to know anything, it would be why, why would he risk so much for so little?

Luxa abandon the process of thoughts she was having, Gregor would never want her to feel pity for him. For the most part the rest of the flight was uneventful, accept for the yells from citizens who saw the limb body of their beloved warrior on the back of Aurora.

Once they all got back to the palace, they landed in highhall and unmounted Aurora immediately, and lifted Gregor onto a stretcher that had been carried out for him.. Luxa was about to follow the doctors that had the stretcher to the hospital when somebody grabbed her hand from behind. Luxa whipped around not knowing who to expect, and found Howard.

"Lux-" Said Howard before being cut off by Luxa.

"I know what you going to say, and I don't want to hear it. I don't care what you think of me and him, so just stop, your not helping anybody with this!" Said Luxa angrily into his face. She had been getting very irritated lately at how Howard felt about Luxa and Gregor's relationship, whether it still existed or not.

"Luxa I-" Said Howard before getting cut off, again.

"Howard just stop, I don't want to hear it so stop!" Yelled Luxa back at Howard.

"LUXA" yelled Howard at Luxa. They were alone in highhall so nobody would hear them anyway.

"He doesn't love you ok? Its been 4 years! He moved on, get it? He doesn't love you anymore, so stop, just move on, it will be better for everybody!" Yelled Howard at Luxa.

"T-That's not true! How could you be so heartless as to say such a thing!" Yelled Luxa as she ran out of the room, giving Howard no time to criticize her anymore.

Luxa ran through all of the halls, getting weird or shocked looks from any servants she passed, though she couldn't care less. She ran all the way down to the hospital, were she let out a large sigh of relief when she found out, from asking a doctor, that he wasn't in the same room as Hayden. She didn't love Hayden, and he would absolutely flip if he found out that she loved Gregor. It was amazing that he hadn't figured it out already, since practically everybody that saw Luxa could tell just from her look, either that or he just didn't want to believe it.

When Luxa finally found her way to Gregor's room, she went right in, or at least tried to, though the guards wouldn't let her in saying that nobody save Vikus had permission to enter. It was only once Vikus came by and saw Luxa arguing with the guards, that he gave her permission to enter. When she entered she was presented with a pleasant sight. Gregor was sleeping peacefully in a hospital bed, though he seemed to have a few bandages from nicks and scratches from his fight with Ripred, and a large bandage wrapped around his head from the bow he took from Ripred.

Luxa asked a doctor that came in what condition Gregor was in, and she discovered that he had a very severe Concussion that wouldn't heal for around another week and a half, though he should wake sometime the next day. Luxa felt bad about this, because she felt that she had caused it, that it was her fault that he got distracted and that Ripred knocked him out, all her fault. At the same time Luxa felt good knowing that Gregor's injury wasn't any worse then it currently was. With Ripred's strength he probably could have smashed in Gregor's skull if he had used his full strength, but then again if she hadn't distracted Gregor he would have been able to slaughter Ripred had it been a real fight.

Luxa went over to Gregor's bed, and knelt down next to the bed. She looked at him, and could see the signs of stress and depression residing on his face. Once again, she could help but feel pity for him, and despite her efforts, she couldn't banish the feeling, even though she knew he wouldn't want people to feel pity for her, she just couldn't stop the feeling from filling her.

Luxa stayed in that same kneeling position for a long period of time, though she had no clue how long, all she could tell was that it had been a long time, until she heard voices coming from the hall, accompanied by footsteps approaching the room. Luxa instantly recognized the voice as the annoying overland girl, and so Luxa retreated through a side doorway into the next room over, and left through there then proceeding over to her own room, making sure to stay in the next room long enough so that the overlander's didn't see her in the hallway.

* * *

**Alex's Point of View**

* * *

"This is the right room right? Or was it that other room back there?" Asked Zoey as they looked for Gregor's room.

"No it was this room, I'm sure of it" responded Alex

"Well ok then, as long as your sure" Said Zoey with hesitation in her voice.

When Alex and Zoey walked into the room they were both greeted by a sleeping warrior, though he had a large bandage around his head, and many little ones on random spots of his body.

Zoey went over to him and was about to shake him awake when Alex yanked her away from the bed.

"Hey! What the heck was that for?" Asked Zoey, rubbing her shoulder.

"Well you cant just shake him awake, we don't know what condition he is in, for all we know he might never wake up!" Said Alex. He was really getting fed up with Zoey today.

"Oh don't worry overlander, he will be fine, he just needs rest. He will be in bed for around a week and a half, but he should wake up sometime tomorrow. It seems the blow he took to his head gave him a severe concussion" said a doctor as he walked in through the entrance.

"See, did I not tell you that you should not go shaking him? Especially when he is in a hospital bed!" Snapped Alex at Zoey. He couldn't stand being around her today, it was about time for lunch anyway.

"Come on Zoey, lets go get to lunch, I'm starving!" Said Alex.

Zoey simply nodded, and before Alex knew it he and Zoey we walking down the hallway to the dinning room for lunch. When they got to the dinning room they were greeted with a site of food laid out all over the table, and everybody sitting and waiting for their arrival, though Ripred looked like he was about to die from trying to resist grabbing all the shrimp and cream sauce and wolfing it down before everybody was even present at the table.

"Welcome Alex, Zoey, as you can see we have been waiting for your arrival for some time, though I assume that you two were visiting Gregor in the hospital" Greeted a nice old man, Vikus.

"Yes we have, though I have a couple of questions to ask you" Said Alex.

"Very well, let me hear them" Said Vikus

"Well one, what are we going to do for the rest of the day? Two, were is the queen?" Asked Alex.

Alex noticed Zoey flinch when he said queen, it was very clear that she had grown a strong hatred for Luxa.

"Well, we were going to brief you and Gregor on a situation that has arisen in the uncharted lands, though it is vital that Gregor be present during the briefing, so it seems that we will have to postpone the meeting until he is once again awake. It seems that you have free time for the rest of the day. As for Luxa, she hasn't been Present at meals for some time now, so we do not expect her presence" Responded Vikus.

"Well ok then. One more question though, this place is so much different then the overland, what would we do in our free time here?" Asked Alex.

"Well, most kids your age would be attending school right now, and considering you are both Overlander's, it would not be wise to put you in school, though I can arrange for you to be educated in a topic of your choice" Responded Vikus.

"Well I guess thats better then nothing, what topics do you offer?" Asked Alex.

"We offer very many topics, though the most popular are math, reading, writing, science, athletics, trade, and blacksmith. You may choose from any of these topics" Said Vikus.

"Well thats better then what we have in the overland. Tough choice between athletics and blacksmith. I have done sports before so I think I may go with Blacksmith" Responded Alex.

"I think I will choose writing" Said Zoey.

"Very well then. I can have our best blacksmith and our best author arrange for a training session letter this evening" Said Vikus as he raised his hand, giving a signal to a guards to arrange this.

The rest of lunch was uneventful, and filled mostly with questions about the underland and how everything works. When lunch was just about over, another guard walked in and handed Vikus two sheets of paper.

"Ahhhh, it seems your lessons have been successfully arranged, here you go" Said Vikus as he handed Alex and Zoey both of the sheets.

Alex read his and found out that he was to be trained as a blacksmith in around an hour by a man named George.

Zoey found out that she had a lessen with a women named Elizabeth in the library on writing in around 45 minutes.

Alex found himself in the bath once again before his lesson. He knew he still had around 40 minutes so he spent a while in the warm relaxing bath, around 20 minutes. He then got out and got dressed. Once Alex was ready he spent the next 20 minutes wandering around trying to find were his lesson was. After asking around 7 people and around 17 minutes of walking, he found were his lesson was to be held.

Using his phone he checked the time, and waited a few minutes before walking into the room were his lesson was to be held.

When Alex walked in he saw large pits of fire, different metals, and a lot of other cool stuff everywhere. He saw a big strong man, probably around 6 and a half feet tall approaching him. At that instant he knew that he was gong to enjoy this very very much.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

Luxa waited for a while in her bedroom, looking through the scrapbook that Gregor had indirectly give her. Like last time, she kept on the final page for longer then most pages and read its words to herself over and over again.

Once Luxa was sure it had been a long time, she put the book away. Hidden behind other books so that nobody would find it, and headed out back to the hospital to see Gregor once again.

It took her a few minutes but she found her way to his room and went in. She was once again greeted by the site of a sleeping overlander with bandages all over him.

Luxa didn't know how long she was with him, but at some point she must have climbed into the bed with Gregor, because she awoke to a the sight of two brown eyes staring into her purple eyes. There are no words for the bliss she felt. Neither her nor Gregor needed to saw a word, they just lay there staring into each others eyes for the longest time. This lasted for so long that neither Gregor or Luxa knew how long they laid there, only that it was a long time. After who knows how long, Gregor wrapped his arms around Luxa and pulled her into a deep kiss. This kiss lasted for a very very long time as well, and had a whole 4 years of passion poured into it. When they both broke apart for air, Gregor whispered into Luxa's ear.

"I love you" Whispered Gregor

"I love you to" Whispered Luxa Back.

They were both about to engage in another kiss when loud yell came from the other side of the room.

"NO YOU CANNOT, YOU WILL NOT" Yelled a very pissed Howard from the other side of the room.

Luxa noticed Gregor sigh, a new he was in no condition to take this from Howard, so she whispered into his ear.

"Let me handle this" Whispered Luxa, and got, in response, a nod from Gregor.

Luxa got up and out of the bed and walked over to Howard.

"Luxa you know that this is unac-" Said Howard before being cut off by an earsplitting crack noise coming from Luxa's hand connecting with Howard's cheek with extreme force. Luxa had just struck Howard.

"No Howard, I am sick or you. You have absolutely zero say in who I have a relationship with, and I will not take anymore of this crap from you! Stop! If I hear anymore on this matter from you I will personally lock you away in a dungeon until I feel it is appropriate to let you out! Now SCREW OFF!" Yelled Luxa at Howard.

Howard had an extremely shocked look on his face, and opened his mouth the say more.

"Luxa you kno-" Said Howard before he got Struck right in the same spot, just twice as hard this time.

Howard was then greeted by the sound of Luxa ordering guards to escort Howard away, once his senses returned from the surprise of the fact that Luxa had hit him, twice. The guards then proceeded to force howard out of the room, and by the look on his face, Luxa knew that this would be that last time she would be hearing about this matter from Howard. When Luxa got back over to Gregor, she crawled back into the bed, were they lay for the rest of the day, staring into each others eyes.

* * *

**Well that's just about a wrap on chapter 10! Boring plot development, though I love what I did with the end. Howard had it coming, he had been bugging Luxa with this matter for some time ever since she was dragged into depression from Gregor leaving, he wouldn't stop telling her to forget. It felt so good to write this chapter, though it took around 6 hours, around 2 of those 6 hours thinking about what to write next. So at this moment I'm sitting at 995 views! So close to a thousand. I know I want to do something special for 1000 views, but I just can't. I would do an extra long chapter, like 10 thousand word chapter, but its a story, and it needs to stay somewhat consistent, so sorry about that! Now the story is really starting to pick up, and I ask you guys 1 thing. Can you remember the fact that Alex is training as a blacksmith? It plays a fairly large role later, and so does the fact that he still has his phone. Yay, small details that are very important! So tell me what you guys think and as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated! See you guys later!**

**R&R guys,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

_**5 minutes later. . .**_

**Tytonic- Ahem, hello?**

**Gregor- wait what? Oh hi!**

**Tytonic- Ya, hi, now that you 2 are done sucking face can you tell me what you though of the chapter?**

***Luxa and Gregor both blush***

**Luxa- Best chapter yet!**

**Gregor- I agree with Luxa, best so far!**

**Tytonic-*sigh* Well figures, aside from you two meeting each other again, how did you like it?**

**Luxa- well I loved how I got to slap Howard, twice! I've been wanting to do that for so long now!**

**Gregor- Well it wasn't much for me, I was out cold the entire time, so aside from seeing Luxa again I didn't do anything else.**

**Tytonic- Well for the beginning of the next chapter you guys might not be happy, but I will let you guys see that for yourself, bye!**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye!**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- I should have expected they would be making out when they got here.**

* * *

**Until next time,**

**-Tytonic**


	11. Chapter 11: The Meeting

** Hello people of the world, I am back today with another chapter, chapter 11! So about this chapter, I know even less about what I'm going to do for it then I have had for any of the others. I have absolutely 0 idea what this chapter is going to be about, so its a surprise for you guys as well as for me. So, give me any and all of your ideas, because I'm really getting to the point were I am going need them if I am to continue the story, thats it if I want to keep updating as much as I have been. So as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so give me your thoughts, I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and I hope I do to!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, Only the characters I make up, and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 11: The Meeting**

* * *

Howard was then greeted by the sound of Luxa ordering guards to escort Howard away, once his senses returned from the surprise of the fact that Luxa had hit him, twice. The guards then proceeded to force Howard out of the room, and by the look on his face, Luxa knew that this would be that last time she would be hearing about this matter from Howard. When Luxa got back over to Gregor, she crawled back into the bed, were they lay for the rest of the day, staring into each others eyes.

* * *

_The Next Morning. . ._

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Gregor stirred slightly as he came out of his dream, and regained his senses. He had been dreaming a dream similar to the one he had the previous night. He was in a large open meadow, slightly hilly, with a small, but nice, breeze. There was a difference compared to the other dream though. The voice that had been calling out to him was now louder, and he could distinguish its owner, Luxa. He had not had to wander around for very long in this dream. Unlike before, he could also distinguish were the voice was coming from. He had followed the voice, and after no longer then five minutes he found it owner. When he first set his eyes on her, she stared back, retuning the same look he was giving her. This look was full of disbelieving, and hidden behind this there was a thick layer of love. The two humans ran up to each other, and without exchanging a single word, they launched each other into an embrace, from which they did not return from. Gregor had no memory from that point on, only holding her in the embrace, and nothing less, nothing more.

When Gregor's eyes slowly slid open, he thought he was still in his apartment in the overland. It took him a few minutes of groggily rolling around until he realized that he was not in his normal bed, but rather something more. . . Silky? Gregor pondered and played with this in his mind for a few moments before recalling the previous night, and the fact that he was once again in the underland.

"Well good morning overlander, I see that you have awoken" said a voice from somewhere in the room.

"I can only assume that by your current condition, that the drugs are still in effect. They should be waring off anytime now, you are to remain in bed until then" Said the same voice in response to the moan Gregor let out once he had first heard the voice.

Gregor could only assume that the voice belonged to a doctor, so he did as told, which was really nothing save laying in bed, and Gregor was fine with that due to his splitting headache. He didn't know how much longer he had laid in bed before his eyelids slowly slid shut and sleep overtook him. He couldn't have slept for more than half an hour before a soothing voice awoke him.

"Gregor, Gregor wake up, you must eat" Said the voice. It was a voice Gregor knew all to well, it was Luxa's voice.

Gregor forced open his eyelids despite the fact that they felt as heavy as bricks. When his eyes confirmed what his ears had told him, he smiled. He slowly sat up in bed, despite the pain shooting strait through is head like a bullet splitting open his skull.

"Hey Luxa" Chocked out Gregor once he was in a full sitting position.

Luxa was standing beside the bed holding a tray of rather good looking food, much better then the crappy hospital food. She had a look of concern hidden deep in her eyes.

"How are you feeling? I thought that you wouldn't like the hospital food so I brought you something a little more. . . satisfying" Said Luxa, the concern only growing with each word.

"Well aside from feeling like I got shot in the head, I feel great. Thanks for the food to, its much better then the hospital food" Said Gregor as he took a bite from the grilled fish he found on the tray.

Luxa, not knowing what Gregor meant by being shot in the head, assumed that it was some sort of overland attack, leading her to assume that it was probably very very painful.

"You are very welcome. What mean you by 'shot'?" Asked Luxa.

"Umm well, its hard to explain. Lets just say that its very painful, and if I really did get shot in the head, I would be killed instantly" Responded Gregor, his thoughts still a it mushed up from the drugs.

"So, what time is it? Do you have any clue when I will be able to leave the hospital, its awfully boring being in here so long with nothing to do" Asked Gregor.

Luxa chuckled at this and though about it for a moment. She could recall the times she had been in the hospital for a long time with nothing to do, and indeed, it was very boring. She held up her finger, letting Gregor know she would be right back, and she went off to find a nurse. Once she had found one, which took very little time because she practically ran into one upon exiting the room.

Luxa had asked a few questions about Gregor, and the doctor had responded saying he should be released later that day, though he could currently attend to most of his duties, as long as he had a doctor with him, and was inside the palace walls. Once the doctor left Luxa and Gregor resumed their conversation.

"So Luxa, what do I have scheduled for today? I highly doubt that even with an injury that I would have nothing to do" Asked Gregor.

"Indeed, you have a meeting to attend in around 2 hours. Many will be present at this meeting including myself, though all I can tell you at the time is that it is of utmost importance. I suggest you start to get ready immediately, due to your head injury, it will slow you down significantly, and you will most likely take all of the 2 hours to prepare" Responded Luxa.

"Ok I will, just one more thing. During training I heard that you were engaged to a man named Hayden, and well I wa-" Said Gregor before being cut off by Luxa planting her lips on his.

Gregor was surprised at this for a moment, but began to kiss her back. When they both pulled away for a breath, Gregor was about to ask Luxa a question when she started speaking before him.

"Gregor, I didn't want to tell you yet, but it has been forced on me, I do not love him as he thinks I do. I still have around a month before it is official. If I can not find a man I wish to marry before then, I will be forced to wed him" Said Luxa, a light depression shown in her voice.

As Luxa turned around to leave the room to prepare for the upcoming meeting, Gregor grabbed her arm and spun her back around, and before she knew what was happening, he had pulled her into a deep kiss. She didn't resist, but she held back for the first moment before she could register what was really happening. After a moment she began to kiss back. It was a long and passionate kiss that lasted for quite a long time. When they broke apart Gregor leaned over to her ear and whispered something in to her ear.

"Luxa, I just want to tell you that I love you and always will love you" Whispered Gregor into Luxa's ear.

"I love you as well" Whispered Luxa right back into his ear.

As Luxa left the room, Gregor couldn't help but notice the look on her face. She had clearly relaxed quite a bit after Gregor had whispered into her ear. He could tell by her expression that she truly didn't love Hayden, and that she truly loved Gregor. He knew that he would try to do everything in his power to prevent this wedding, though he knew that in the end, unless he committed murder, could only stop the wedding by becoming Luxa's husband himself. He knew that that would be a big commitment, though one he would be willing to take nonetheless. He also knew that his family would never allow it, and that, due to the council, would have very very slim chances of being granted permission to Wed her, though he knew that she would say yes if he asked, it was, in the end, ultimately the councils decision. Being the warrior though couldn't hurt his chances. He knew that he didn't have time to think of this right now, so he tucked away the idea back into the depths of his mind, were he would return to it later.

Gregor Slid out of his bed and went over to the bath that was fairly close to his room. He took a long soothing bath, though it felt great, it also hurt because it was making his head pound so hard he wouldn't have felt the difference had he jumped off a cliff and landed on it. Once Gregor had finished his bath he had found a fresh set of silky underland clothing. He slipped into the clothing, and returned to his room. He finished the few remaining bits of food he had left, and made his way over to the council room. Were else would they hold a meeting of such importance?

It took him a square 20 minutes to walk the 5 minute walk due to his throbbing head ache, he kept falling onto the wall, so he had to be like Nerissa and use the wall as a constant railing to support himself.

By the time he had Gotten to the meeting, he figured he was about 10-20 minutes early to the meeting, but he decided to walk in anyway. Just before he entered the room, he was stopped by a voice calling from down the hall.

"Gregor, wait!" Called an all to familiar voice from down the hall.

"Hey Luxa" Responded Gregor as a smile crept up onto his face.

"Hello Gregor, I just wanted to tell you, that what you are going to hear, is not going to be good news, and that I will hold nothing against you if you choose to return to the overland after the meeting" Said Luxa sadly. Gregor guessed she thought he would actually leave.

"Luxa, I'm not going to leave you in the dark, if you need my help I am more then willing to give it" Responded Gregor.

"Thank you, Gregor" Said Luxa as a smile crept its way up and onto her face as well. She then reached forward and engulfed Gregor in an embrace. Gregor returned this gesture, though he winced in obvious pain. His body was still very stiff and sore, though he also had a throbbing headache that's left the other pains in the dust. Luxa saw Gregor's obvious pain, and pulled back so she didn't hurt him any more then he was already hurt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Said Luxa.

"I'm fine, don't worry, I can deal with it" Said Gregor.

Luxa just nodded at this, knowing that he was lying, but she still let it go. With that, the mighty warrior and gracious queen walked in to the meeting, ready for it as they would ever be.

When they entered the meeting, they could see a large map laid out in the center of the room, the corners secured down by heavy marble pyramids. Many people were walking around talking to others. Gregor recognized many of these people as high ranked and important people, as well as some of the top fighters he had seen in the underland.

Gregor understood when Luxa got pulled away into a conversation over to the side of the room, as queen, it was important for her to listen to whatever the people had to say. Gregor had spotted Alex and Zoey over in one corner of the room, and he proceeded over to them to talk.

When Zoey saw Gregor she instantly jumped at him and pulling him into a hug. Gregor felt very uncomfortable with this and attempted to pull out of the hug, though he was still to weak to resist. Zoey didn't seem to notice his discomfort by once she pulled away she gave Gregor a very serious look.

"Gregor I need to ask you something" Said Zoey, and got a nod from Gregor in response.

"Who do you. . . you now what, never mind, I'll ask later" Said Zoey, looking away, her eyes full of sorrow.

Gregor wasn't very concerned with this, if he knew Zoey she wouldn't let it go, and he would be asked later.

When a call rang out, everybody knew the meeting was about to start, and took their seats. Gregor didn't have the slightest clue were he would sit, until he saw Luxa signal him over to the open seat to her right. Gregor took this seat, completely aware of Zoey's gaze boring holes through the back of his head.

It took a few minutes for everybody to get situated, but once everybody had fully settled down, one of the council members stood up and began speaking.

"So, as most, but not all of you are aware of, we have been called here today to speak of a most dire matter. I will not keep this from any of you, and I will get right to the point. All of the underland is at great risk, and threatened by a new species awakened from the uncharted lands. This new species has come to be know as the Myriapods, or as the overland calls it, centipedes and millipedes. From information we have gathered, they are an extremely powerful enemy, and it can take no less then 20 men to take down just one of these creatures. However we can conclude that either of out 2 most powerful soldiers, Ripred and Gregor the warrior, have the ability to take down many with ease, though according to Ripred's description, they are far more difficult to defeat then the average gnawer or human. From data collected we also have found all of this creatures weaknesses and strong points, and I regret to inform you that they have only one weakness. This creatures neck, were its shell it thin, you can manage to cut through it, with extreme force that is, though the rest of its body you can only so much as scratch with the strongest of attacks. Ripred has confirmed this, Ripred, will you explain all you know?" Said the council member, sighing afterwords, must have been a mouthful.

"Yes, thank you. Ok, so I will inform you all on my knowledge of this enemy. I have fought it head on, and seen one of them alone, take out a party of around 20 men, not including the bats with them. I unleashed one of my most powerful attacks on one of theses creatures, and only one of my 10-20 hits landed on its neck, killing it. All other attacks left no more then a scrape, and none worse then a scratch. These creatures are very strong, and much faster then we are. They have two sharp sword like claws on the end of their tail which they can swing around with incredible speed. These 2 claws, as I have seen, can slice strait through a sword, and continue through the thickest of armor and right out the other side of it, as easily as cutting through water. They have to pincers for a mouth, almost identical to the cutters mouth, though they hold a deadly amount of poison that can kill you in less then 5 seconds from so much as touching it. They have many many legs that can cling to any surface, and I mean any, they would be able to scale the wall of the palace with ease. These creatures are very hard to kill, and with numbers far greater then the humans, gnawers, and fliers combined, we have next to no hope of winning in any fight against them" Said Ripred, also sighing, another mouthful.

"Yes, thank you Ripred. It seems that many of you see this as we see it. With our current forces, we have no hope of winning against these forces. As of now, if we do not find a solution to fighting these vile beasts, all of the underland as we know it is lost. Warrior, I formally ask you, beg of you, will you assist against this powerful and deadly force? None of us will hold anything against you if you deny this plea for help, you may return to the overland if you wish" Said another council member.

"Thank you for the offer, and as warrior, I believe it is my duty to aid the underland in this time of need. I stand for you all, and will defend the underland with my life" Responded Gregor. He was having trouble keeping up with all of this, especially with his head injury.

"Very well then, Gregor the overlander. We thank you for your sacrifice in order to defend those who you owe nothing to. Know then, we are having once of these Myriapods brought in now. It will be on the table in the center of the room any minute now, please look over it, you may touch it, though you may not move it.. This meeting will continue in 3 days time, please grant us with your ideas for this upcoming war then, we will need every advantage we have against this new enemy. Thank you all for your time. This meeting is now dismissed, I shall see you all in 3 days time" Said Luxa, using her Regal voice that practically screams authority.

The entire room burst into chatter, and with the chatter came the coarse of the Myriapod, the thing was _huge_, at least 10 feet long. Everybody rushed up to examine it, and Gregor decided he would look over it after the crowd died down a bit.

Gregor assumed that Luxa thought the same because neither of them moved from their seats. Gregor and Luxa were the only two people in the room not crowding around the creature trying t grab a glimpse. They both sat in silence for some time before Luxa broke the silence.

"Gregor, now that you can see with your own eyes what we are against, I will hold nothing against you if you wish to leave and be with your family" Said Luxa.

"Luxa, I wont leave, there is no way I will leave until this war is over, at the least" Responded Gregor.

"But Grego-" Said Luxa, getting cut off by Gregor's lips being pressed upon her own.

They sat in that position for quite some time before breaking apart for air. They knew they shouldn't kiss in public, but everybody was so focused on the Myriapod that nobody had noticed. They had both though thought that nobody had seen them. They though this until out of the corner of their eyes, they both saw Zoey Staring at them. They both looked over at Zoey's miserable face, and they both witnessed as she ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

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** And that is about if with this chapter. Still more plot development, so its not as good at some of the previous chapters or future chapters. I promise that later chapters will get better, but for the most part I don't think this chapter was all that bad, and I loved the ending. Drama! So guys, the story, like all stories has 3 main parts, beginning middle and end. I would say that the beginning is just about coming to an end. In 3 days time (in the stories time) the beginning of the middle will start. So as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so give me your ideas and stuff!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- so thoughts on the chapter?**

**Gregor- Well, the situation is worse then I had assumed, and the ending, well I don't even know what to say about that, Zoey is heartbroken.**

**Luxa- I'm happy that Gregor has agreed to stay, but yes that ending, why the drama?**

**Tytonic- It makes for a good story.**

**Gregor- Well I can't argue with that one.**

**Luxa- Point taken.**

**Tytonic- So I'm gonna go know, you guys have a lot of thinking to do, you need a new weapon here, of corse I have ideas already, though I wont tell you, I know I'm cruel.**

**Gregor- Well I'm getting used to you being cruel, so whatever. See you later.**

**Luxa- Bye.**

**Tytonic- Well see you guys next time, bye!**

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**R&R Guys,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Thank you all for 1,000 views! Never though I would get this far so fast!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Monument

** Well here I am with another chapter! Since I have no clue as as to what this chapter is going to be about, I think I may as well start the quest that we all know is coming one way or another, so expect that in the next few chapters! So, I have been thinking, and I have come to a conclusion that I may actually put multiple quests into this story , though I already have a few of them planned out, they it is not set in stone, so don't hope for multiple quests. So, I think I may finally have more of this story laid out, though it's more towards the very end of it all. It seems that, just like mazes, I'm working backwards here, starting at the end and working up until the beginning, it is awkward, but I seem to be able to think better that way. So as usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts on the story, good or bad! So I guess I will see you guys after the chapter, bye!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 12: The Monument**

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They sat in that position for quite some time before breaking apart for air. They knew they shouldn't kiss in public, but everybody was so focused on the Myriapod that nobody had noticed. They had both though thought that nobody had seen them. They thought this until out of the corner of their eyes, they both saw Zoey Staring at them. They both looked over at Zoey's miserable face, and both witnessed as she ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

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**Alex's Point of View**

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Alex had been looking over the Myriapod corpse, and he knew, just from looking at it that, that they were in some serious trouble, especially if these creatures out numbered them greatly. He let this thoughts wander. . .

His thoughts wandered over many things for a period of time, but he stopped and entered a state of deep though once his mind came over a sentence that he had heard just minutes ago.

* * *

_Just minutes before. . ._

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"This meeting will continue in 3 days time, please grant us with your ideas for this upcoming war then, we will need every advantage we have against this new enemy" Said Luxa.

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_Back to current time. . ._

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That was it, he knew. She was right with what she said, they needed every advantage they could muster up.

Alex reached out his hand to touch the Myriapod. Recalling his blacksmith lessons (which he had enjoyed very much, and learned a lot from (he had gotten the knack of it very fast)), he ran his hand along the shell, and let is thoughts run wild.

"Yes, yes, this is perfect! It is to strong to damage, but it is just like diamond! You can't damage it with anything save itself!" Thought Alex, letting the newly discovered blacksmith side of him run free.

Alex continued to allow this line of though to run free, coming up with numerous ideas. This went on for a short period of time, though was cut off abruptly by the sound of loud sobs. Alex spun around just in time to see Zoey running out of the room, tears streaming down her face like a waterfall.

It seemed that Alex was not the only person that had heard, or seen this display of emotions. Every other head in the room turned just in time to see the female overlander running out of the room crying. The entire room had gone silent that instant, and once the loud footsteps of the girl running away quieted down enough, the entire room broke out into murmurs and whispers.

It seemed that everybody was asking the same question. Why had she burst out crying, and then ran out of the room so abruptly? It seemed that everybody was curious to know, but when everybody looked around, the only thing they could find was their beloved queen and warrior, looking just as confused, making it seem as if this display had interrupted a conversation on the matter of war strategies, or at least this is what it seemed like.

Alex, knowing his friend, could see right through the queen and warrior. He knew what they had been doing, and he knew that Zoey had seen this. Deep inside, Alex knew that Zoey had know that Gregor felt nothing for her, though it seemed she had only grown to accept this as a fact now.

Alex knew what he had to do, and he knew if he didn't, that she would sit in her room, crying, and wouldn't leave until somebody forced her to, or until she deemed necessary, which would be never.

Alex left his spot beside the over sized bug corpse (his spot was immediately filled by another underlander), and proceeded to follow the sound of footsteps and loud sobs.

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**Gregor's Point of View**

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Gregor just stood their dumbfounded. He knew he had hurt her very badly, that she had liked him so much. Despite this, Gregor knew it was bound to happen sometime, that Zoey would finally get the message that Gregor didn't like her the way she liked him. Gregor knew she would find out sometime, though he had never wanted her to find out like this. Gregor figured that he would deal with it later, because for now it seemed like he had more important matters to attend to.

"What was that all about?" Asked a puzzled Luxa.

"Well, you see, she has had a thing for me for a long time, though I don't feel the same for her. I think she only really accepted this as a fact now though" Responded Gregor.

"I am not surprised. When you got hit in the head by Ripred, she got very mad at me when I went to help you. She claimed that I am not to be trusted, and that you wouldn't want me to help you" Said Luxa.

"Well I just want to tell you that that isn't true, I trust you with my life" said Gregor.

"And you with mine" responded Luxa.

"Well I would kiss you know, but half of the people in the room are watching us, plus it seems some of the people are clearing out, and I want to see the enemy before I dive head first into the fire" Said Gregor.

Both Gregor and Luxa blushed at this comment, but once the red color dissipated, they both stood up and walked over to the Myriapod to get a good look at it. It seemed that Luxa had been to busy with work to actually see this beast (she had fought it before, though it was to fast to really get a good glimpse of it, plus they were kind of rushed to get away), so it seemed that she was just as curious as Gregor was.

Gregor and Luxa took a position around the middle of the beast. They could clearly see both the head and tail from this position. Gregor could see the clear concern flow right into Luxa, she had already know it was deadly, but seeing it in person made it seem so much worse then the words had describe it.

Gregor would have pulled her into an embrace in order to comfort her, and maybe dampen her worries, though the room was still full of people looking over the body, and talking about strategies that may help defeat this near unstoppable force.

Gregor looked over the entire body, looking for any weaknesses that he may be able to use against them, and evaluating the moves that would and wouldn't help him against this beast. He noticed the extremely shallow scratches that Ripred had caused. They were barely visible. What worried Gregor the most was that were Ripred had cut through to the neck, killing the beast, the shell was still several inches thick, around 5 (he could see this looking into the cut that Ripred had made). It seemed that the only reason it was able to be cut through was because it was softer, in order to allow the creature to move its head around.

"Gregor! Come, I must take you back to the hospital to check your injuries. If they are ok, you will be allowed to leave the hospital" Called Howard as he made his was through the small crowd towards Gregor.

Gregor followed Howard out, though upon glancing back, he caught the concerned violet eyes of the queen. He could see her eyes practically screaming at him telling him not to let Howard push him around. They both knew that Howard was going to have one of his famous "special" talks with Gregor about his relationship with Luxa.

Gregor made his way out of the room after Howard. Once they were out of the room, and also out of earshot, Howard stopped and turned around.

"Gregor, I need to talk to you about your relationship with my cousin" said Howard.

"Save yourself the words Howard, I don't give a damn what you think! It is of none of your concern how me and Luxa feel for each other, so lay off before I shove a sword up your ass!" Yelled Gregor at Howard. Gregor had never used swears lightly, so this was really saying something.

Gregor had at this point shoved Howard into the wall, and had his arm against Howard's neck. Gregor let off of Howard's neck and stormed off in the direction of the hospital. Gregor, using echolocation, could see Howard following after him. Once they got to the hospital, Gregor sat back down on his bed so that Howard could inspect whatever he had to with Gregor.

"Well, for the most part you are fine. I am releasing you from the hospital. You can go back to training if you wish, though be warned it will give you a large headache, but will not worsen your condition" said Howard.

Gregor did not respond, he simply slid off of the bed, and walked strait out of the room. He did not look back or thank Howard.

Gregor didn't know what to do now, he had a lot on his mind. He thought about this for a few moments, but found his head was to full of thoughts at the moment to really think strait, so he did what he always did in order to clear his mind, he went running.

Gregor had made his way over to the platform that lets you down out of the palace. When he got there he stepped onto the platform, and the guards hesitated a moment, but let it down, knowing not to mention that he should just use a flier. Everybody knew that it wouldn't work out to talk about that around him. Everybody knew the story of how the mighty warrior and his brave flier, Ares, killed the monster threatening all of the underland, and how Ares had lost his life in the process. Ares was an outcast when he entered battle. If he had come back, he would have lost the title of outcast, and he would have been highly respected as a hero. Now he was only spoken of in the stories parents told their children. The stories of how a mighty warrior from another land came and saved all of the underland from the clutches of evil.

Once the platform hit the ground, Gregor stepped off and began to walk to the arena. On his way he had to walk through several neighborhoods. In each and every place he went, he would receive cheers from people on the streets and outside their houses. He even saw a couple of kids throwing the ball back and forth, though the once kid saw Gregor and stared. The kid didn't notice the ball had been thrown back at him, and he got hit in the side of the head with it.

As Gregor was making his way to the arena, he could see with his echolocation, a man with a knife holding a young girl around his age up to the wall of a house. This scene was going on in one of the alleyways between houses, so nobody could see what was going on. Gregor took an abrupt turn into the alleyway the second he saw this scene. The man had no clue that Gregor was there, and definitely didn't expect Gregor to grab him by the arm and yank him out of the alleyway.

The man lost his balance and fallen to the ground. Everybody on the street (which was quite a lot, they were gathering in hopes of getting a glimpse of the legendary warrior) was presented with the scene on a man on his back holding a knife, and the warrior standing about 5 feet away, looking down on him.

The anger in the mans eyes disappeared the second he saw who his attacked was. It had been replaced with pure fear. The man quickly stood up and slid into a ready position. He was requesting a formal duel. Gregor, having no weapon, also slid into a ready position. Gregor had to give it to the man, either he was very brave, or really stupid, or both. The man clumsily charged at Gregor. Gregor spun around behind the man, which was extremely easy due to how slow the man was. With once quick jab to the neck, the man had fallen to the ground out cold. This whole display only took around half a second to play itself out.

Gregor picked the man up by the collar of his shirt and held him up. Gregor waited for a moment and then passed the limb body over to the guard who had come.

"Thank you, warrior, the crime rate in Regalia is very low, though we do have a few occasional crimes occur" Said the guard as he started off. The guard signaled to the girl who had been pinned on the wall to follow.

The girl was about to follow when she ran up to Gregor and planted a kiss on his cheek and whispered something into his ear.

"Thank you" whispered the girl. Gregor only nodded in response, though his expression did not change.

Gregor got many stares, though none were awkward, they were all looks of respect. By the time he had gotten to the arena, he had probably been walking for around half an hour. He let out a sigh of relief when he found that the arena was completely empty. He immediately began to run laps around the arena. He found a nice pace that he was sure he could maintain for at least an hour, and stuck to it. He began to let his thoughts run free, allowing anything to freely enter his head. Many many things flew into his head and out the other side, though none of the thoughts really concerned him. That was the case for around the next 40 minutes, that was until thoughts of what would happen after the war came into his head.

"Once it's all over. . . I will have to go hom- no, I can't consider the overland my home anymore, not after what I have seen, what I have done" thought Gregor.

"I will have to leave, I will have no choice. I will have to leave everybody again, I will have to leave Luxa. . . I can't leave her though, I can't leave her alone again, not again" thought Gregor.

"Gregor!" Yelled a voice from above.

Gregor didn't stop jogging, at least not until he saw who was calling to him. Once he saw who was calling, he jogged over to were they had landed.

"Hey Luxa, how it goi-" Said Gregor, getting cut off by Luxa throwing her arms around Gregor.

"Gregor! Why did you just leave without telling me? I'm still in the meeting and I get word that you saved a girl and caught a criminal!? I though you were going to come back to the meeting after your "checkup" with Howard!" Said Luxa, though she was very irritated.

"Yes, I just kind of felt like I really needed to clear my head" responded Gregor.

"Yes well, it seems that it doesn't matter now. What did Howard say about your condition?" Asked Luxa.

"Well I'm fine, though doing anything should give me a bad headache, though it will not worsen my condition" Responded Gregor.

"Good, because training starts in around 15 minutes" said Luxa.

"Well that is 15 minutes of free time" said Gregor.

"Yes, and I have something to show you, and I really think you will like it" said Luxa.

"Well let's see it then" Said Gregor.

Luxa grabbed his hand and led him over to were Aurora wait, and they both climbed up onto her back, Luxa in the back and Gregor in the front. They flew for a minute or 2 before Gregor felt them slowly gliding in for a landing. When they landed the first thing Gregor could see was what looked like a park of sorts.

"Come" said Luxa, as she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along.

They walked for a few moments, and Gregor had to admit, it was a very nice park. It had fountains and streams, though it didn't have any plants like central park, so it was mostly rock formations.

When they arrived at their destination, Gregor saw what he though he thought was why Luxa had brought him here. There was a statue. It was a perfect rendition of Gregor On Ares back, holding Sandwiches sword in his right hand. Luxa continued to walk over to the statue, and when she got to it, she let go of Gregor's hand and ran her hand over the words carved onto a golden jewel-decorated plaque. Gregor began to Read what it said.

* * *

**Here lays Ares the flier**

**Bond of the Warrior**

**Savior of the Underland**

**May he rest in peace**

**-O-**

**Thank you Gregor**

**Thank you Ares**

**For all you have**

**sacrificed**

**we will always**

**remember you**

* * *

Gregor had to admit it was not what he expected at all. He could feel tears begin to form at the corners of his eyes as he remembered Ares and the final moments with him.

"Gregor, I knew you wouldn't want to have him left were he died. I had this monument made a couple of days after you left. It took a lot of effort, but he is actually buried here, in the stone" Said Luxa.

Gregor was speechless. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Gregor put both hands on either side of the plaque. He read the words over and over, ignoring the tears that were landing on them. Gregor could feel Luxa put her arms around him, and so he returned the gesture. They stayed like that for several minutes, and Gregor allowed himself to cry his eyes dry int hat time. Gregor very rarely cried these days. The only thing that could every make him cry was the memory of Ares, and how it was his call that caused the bats death.

Once Gregor had finished Crying his eyes out, he and Luxa proceeded back to the arena. Anybody that questioned why Gregor's eyes were red and puffy, quickly got shut up by a look that Luxa shot at them.

Training went as it usually did, though Luxa convinced Gregor not to spar against Ripred again, not until he was 100% better again, so he refrained from fighting Ripred, though Ripred wasn't happy about it.

Gregor knew that he wouldn't be able to win against Ripred with his condition, so instead he challenged Luxa to a spar. She had accepted, curious to see how long she would be able to last, though she knew that she had no hope of winning.

"Ready?" Asked Gregor as he slid into position.

"Indeed" said Luxa as she slid into position, and with that they began.

They circled each other for a few moments before Luxa went on the offensive. She began with a simple slice downward, though she purposely pointed the blade more horizontal then she should have, and coming up short, she thrust back upwards, in attempt into catch Gregor by surprise. When the sword finally came back up, it hit nothing but air, and left her completely exposed on all other sides. She quickly spun around to block the blow that would surely come. She brought up the sword to block nothing, and quickly realized that he was behind her once again. She slid the blade under her arm, thrusting the blade backwards. Again it hit nothing. This went on for another minute before she realized that he was playing with her, and could have killed her many times by now.

"Your holding back, you could have killed me many time over already" Said Luxa.

"Nonsense, I would never" said Gregor in a playful tone.

"Your turning into Ripred" Said Luxa

"Oh god, kill me now" Said Gregor.

"Well if you haven't noticed, that's what I've been trying to do" Said Luxa playfully, as she hit nothing but air once more.

"Oh, hmm, good point, well how much longer you willing to go?" Asked Gregor.

"I don't know, training ended 10 minutes ago, but you have made it clear that I can't beat you" Said Luxa.

"Yes, I'm getting kind of hungry, shall we go eat?" Asked Gregor.

"As soon as you beat m-" Said Luxa as she got cut off by the sword being held to her neck.

"Ok then, let's go eat" Said Gregor pulling away.

Gregor and Luxa had gone back to the palace to eat, and found that they were sparing for around an hour and a half. Gregor had found that he was left with free time for the rest of the day, though he was wiped since he had been sparing with Luxa for so long. It was around an hour after lunch when Gregor heard footsteps coming up to his door.

"Gregor, are you there?" Called an all to familiar voice.

"Yes, you can come in, Luxa" Responded Gregor.

"Gregor, you have. . . visitors waiting for you in highhall" Said Luxa.

Gregor had proceeded over to highhall immediately after he heard what Luxa had to say. When he and Luxa walked into highhall, they were both presented with 4 overlanders. A women, a man, a 7 year old girl, and an 11 year old girl.

"Mom, dad, Lizzie, boots?" Asked Gregor.

* * *

**That took me soooo much longer then I expected. It just took me a full 7 hours to write that. I got so much writers block during this, so I'm wiped. I had expected to start the quest in this chapter, though I guess I still have a few more things to write before I throw Gregor jumps into the fire. Give me any and all ideas, since I'm sick of sitting at a computer for 7 hours strait in order to write only one chapter. As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, give me all the feedback you can muster up! See you guys later!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Ok so what did you guys think of the chapter?**

**Gregor- well it was ok, though my parents are going to try to drag me back to the overland.**

**Luxa- oh please don't go!**

**Gregor- Don't worry, I wont go, not yet.**

**Tytonic- well thats not your call! Though for purpose of the story, I'm not going to send you home, I'm not that cruel, though I can be very cruel.**

**Gregor- you better not!**

**Tytonic- I wont I wont, though you the one behind bars not me, so it doesn't matter how mad you get now. So before I piss you off to much, see you later!**

**Luxa- Bye!**

***Gregor ignored Tytonic***

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Uhhh, I'm getting bored at this computer.**

* * *

**R&R peeps,**

**-Tytonic**


	13. Chapter 13: Legends Die Hard

**Hey guys, it's me Tytonic back for another chapter! I know I haven't updated in like 3 days, but I've been busy with stuff, and when I found free time it was only like an hour, and it usually takes like 4-6 hours to write a chapter. I've also noticed that I basically have a schedule, I usually post every other day, or everyday, and I want to keep this up. Okay, onto stuff about the story! Part of the reason I haven't posted is because of major writers block. I have no clue what to do for the middle of the story, all I know is it will be a quest of sorts. Please give me ideas for the story, I seriously need them now. Some of you guys are now wondering how the humans will fight this new enemy, well I won't say how, because I don't know myself, though I am getting a few ideas, none large enough to save the humans. One last thing, a lot of you are pointing out lots of spelling and grammar issues, all I have to say to that is I know, I know that the story is riddled with them. Now, I regret to say that you guys can probably expect a lot more, I may be a decent writer, but given the fact that I'm only 13 (I know, most of you didn't expect that) and in 8th grade, there will continue to be errors, though I do believe I will improve, the errors wont stop. Ok, so I ask you please look past the errors and onto the story, and as usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!**

**Fly you all high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 13: Legends Die Hard**

* * *

Gregor had proceeded over to highhall immediately after he heard what Luxa had to say. When he and Luxa walked into highhall, they were both presented with 4 overlanders. A women, a man, a 7 year old girl, and an 11 year old girl.

"Mom, dad, Lizzie, Boots?" Asked Gregor

* * *

_Trying something new, this is in both Gregor's and Luxa's Point of view( I know that it's kind of. . . wrong, not really something that exists, a mixed Pov. . ._

* * *

"Oh, why? They are going to take him away from me, and not only that but he is the only hope for the underland! They can't just take him. . . but If he chooses to go I can't stop him can I?" Thought Luxa to herself.

"Mom, dad, Lizzie, Boots?" Asked Gregor, the dread visibly showing on his face.

"He knows it to, they are going to try to take him away, at least he doesn't seem to want to go." Thought Luxa. "Maybe we can convince them to let him stay. No, they are parents, they will never let their son fight a war, let alone one that we have such small hopes of winning."

"Gregor! Oh my baby boy! We have been so worried!" Said Gregor's mother, running up and pulling him into an embrace. Gregor returned the embrace.

Lizzie and Boots would have done the same, though they knew what was about to go down, and they wanted to have absolutely no part in it.

"Gregor, come on we are leaving this dreaded place, I'm taking you home!" Said Gregor's mom, as she took his hand and tried to drag him away, though it seemed that she expected him to come willingly, because when she pulled he didn't budge an inch.

"Mom, I can't go, not yet, I-" Said Gregor, getting abruptly cut of by his mother.

"Yes you can, they don't need you! They have survived the past 4 years without you, it is clear they don't need you!" Said Gregor's mom, visibly struggling to deter the urge to yell.

"Yes they do mom, you don't unders-" Said Gregor, getting cut off once more.

"I understand all I need to understand, now come, we are going home Now!" Yelled Gregor's mom, failing to resist to yell.

"No mom, I can't, not yet!" Said Gregor, his voice was rising, but was far from a yell at this point in time.

"YOU ARE COMING HOME NOW YOUNG MAN!" Screamed Gregor's mom.

"Mom, I can't, I won't." Said Gregor calmly.

"Excuse me? May we talk about this over supper? You all must be famished." Asked Vikus. Neither Luxa nor Gregor had noticed him until now.

"Yes Vikus, that would be wonderful." Said Luxa. "Guards? Escort The overlanders to the dinning room, I have some business to attend to."

The guards nodded immediately, not daring to question what matters she may have, and they led the family out of the room, all except for Gregor. At this point in time Gregor could hardly be considered an overlander, but rather the warrior. As Vikus left the room after the guards, he gave Gregor and Luxa a smile, he knew exactly what "business" Luxa must attend to.

Once the guards and Gregor's family were clear from the room, Luxa grabbed Gregor's hand and led him away. They walked for a short time, perhaps a minute, until they came into the royal chambers. Luxa sat Gregor down on the couch, and took a seat next to him.

"Gregor, I needed to ask you something." Said Luxa.

"Don't worry Luxa, I'm not going home. No, I'm already home. I just don't belong in the overland, it seems more alien to me now then the underland did to me at first. I'm not going to leave, not as long as I don't have to. I'm not going to leave you, not again." Said Gregor. It was amazing how he already knew exactly what she was going to ask. It goes to show how close they have really become.

"Thank you." Whispered Luxa into Gregor's ear as she wrapped her arms around him. He only kissed her on the forehead and stood up, offering her a hand.

"Come on, we have to go eat." Said Gregor.

Luxa took his hand, allowing him to pull her up, and they left, hand in hand, to go down to the dinning room. It took them a minute or two to get to the dinning room. Gregor planted a small kiss on the top of her head and let go of her hand. They both knew that they couldn't display affection for each other in public, after all Luxa was suppose to be engaged to a man named Hayden.

"Ahh, Gregor Luxa, he were starting to think you wouldn't show. Now, we may all start eating." Said Vikus as both Gregor and Luxa walked into the room and took their seats.

Luxa took her seat at the head of the table in a chair that seemed, well, more suited for a queen. Gregor took the seat to her left, and Gregor's mom seemed to have taken the seat to Luxa's right, probably so she could stare Gregor down, make him feel intimidated, like he had no choice in the matter,make him feel that he was going home whether he wanted to or not.

"So, Gregor, Alex, Zoey, after we are done eating gather your things and we are going back up, we have to leave for maine tomorrow morning." Said Gregor's mom.

"Mom, we can't leave. If we do they have no hope of winning this war" Said Gregor. A look of dread crept onto his face the second he realized he had made the mistake of telling his mom of the war.

"Yes we can, and we will. They can survive without you, your only one kid." Said Gregor's mom, somehow suppressing her anger, though it was still showing on her entire face.

"Grace, you must understand, we need Gregor's help desperately. If you take him now we have no hoe of winning this war." Said Luxa, amazed that she could Remember Gregor's moms name after 4 whole years.

"NO, my answer is final. You do NOT need him. He is only one kid, how could he affect your stupid war so much?" Said Grace, the anger growing more evident on her face by the second.

"He is the legendary warrior, he is the greatest soldier we have. If it were not for him none of us would be here to speak to you know." Responded Vikus from the other side of the table, opposite of Luxa.

"That's ridiculous! Gregor has never even held a weapon before, let alone fought with one!" Said Grace.

"Gregor did not tell you? He really didn't tell you anything did he? Your son is a rager, a natural born killer, he has killed more people then you have ever known." Said Ripred as he entered the room. Luxa hadn't even noticed that he was absent from the room, it was unlike Ripred to be late to supper.

"Ripred!" Yelled Lizzie, she had jumped up at Ripred, embracing him. He decided to be funny and pretended to stumble back a few feet from the force of it.

"Lizzie! I have missed you so much! You have grown so much!" Said Ripred in a rather happy tone. He had always had a soft spot for the little girl.

"I missed you to! I can't believe it's been 4 whole years!" Said Lizzie back, equally happy.

"Now Lizzie, don't get to comfortable, we are leaving soon. Now, My son is NOT a killer, he is a 16 year old boy! He has never taken a single life, and he never will!" Said Grace, yelling the last part.

"Grace, you don't understand. He is our greatest force, he is worth hundreds of soldiers, we _need _him, without him, mothers and children will die, innocent families will be slaughtered. I am afraid we have no choice. Either you allow him to stay, were you will be allowed to stay or go to the overland as you wish. If you don't grant him permission, you will be held here forcefully. I will not allow one protective mother lead to the destruction of my people, I am sorry." Said Luxa, he tone instantly becoming a stern, yet caring regal voice.

"Who do you think you are?! We are leaving NOW, and you can't stop us. Say goodbye, Gregor is NEVER coming back here." Yelled Grace.

"Grace, you fail to see reason, I am sorry. Guards, Grace is not to leave the palace without my permission. If she resists she gets three warnings, any more and she is to be given a jail cell. She may go no where without guards. Her children may have freedom, I am sure that Lizzie is fine with Ripred, and boots will be fine with Hazard." Said Luxa, maintaining her regal voice.

"Are you crazy?! You should be ashamed of yourself! Think about what you are saying!" Yelled Grace.

"As I have said, I am very sorry, but it is necessary. That would be warning one. I advise that you stop the pointless arguing, it will do nothing but worsen your situation." Responded Luxa.

Grace looked like she was about to yell something back, but she stopped herself, and her defense crumbled before her. She had a deep look of defeat on her. Gregor had never seen his mom look so defeated, but nonetheless he made a mental note to thank Luxa later. For now he just gave her a thankful look, and she nodded in response. The rest of supper was silent, save Lizzie and Ripred's constant talking and Alex's single question.

"Luxa, I have a question, though it may be asking a bit much. I had an idea, but in order to test it, I need the body of that Myriapod. I can't say exactly what I have in mind now, its a surprise." Asked Alex.

"Well, we were going to dispose of it anyway so I suppose so. I can only assume that it has to do with our blacksmith training, I hear that you are having great success, and are already better then most blacksmiths in Regalia, I will have it delivered to the forge." Responded Luxa, ignoring the fact that this made Alex blush. She raised her hand as a signal, and a guard went off to complete the delivery.

After supper, Gregor knew Luxa had stuff to do, so being with her was crossed of his list of stuff to do. Gregor thought for some time until he came to a conclusion.

"I will challenge Ripred to a rematch, he would never deny it! If he did deny it I could just call him a wimp, then he will either accept, or try to kill me on the spot!" Thought Gregor. He would snatch a sword from the armory and go challenge Ripred.

It took Gregor a square hour to find the armory and grab the best sword he could find, but he did anyway. By then it took another hour to find out were Ripred was, though he still had to get to Ripred. He moved so fast. By the time he found out were Ripred was, he would be long gone.

When Gregor finally caught up to Ripred, he had been giving Lizzie a ride around the palace. Lizzie was unusually small for her age, around a foot shorter then most kids in her school, so she could actually ride Ripred with ease. It was hard, but Gregor had seen, using echolocation, Ripred running down the hall, so he ran to intercept him, though Gregor literally crashed into Ripred at the corner her saw him around. Lizzie barely kept her grip on his fur and almost fell off.

"Ripred! Oh man, I've been looking for you for hours! I want to challenge you to another spar, you only won the last because I got distracted!" Said Gregor.

"Maybe, but the fact that you got distracted was good, it means that you have gained control of your rager side. Before it was almost impossible to get your attention when you were fighting, you were completely unaware of the world, but now it seems that your little girlfriend caught your attention, though you could still use some work." Said Ripred. Lizzie chuckled at this and Gregor blushed, though he was shocked, that was almost a compliment from Ripred. Almost.

"Okay, meet me at the arena, I need to do some stuff first." Said Ripred.

Gregor nodded and went off, he didn't bother running, it would only get him further lost in the palace, he had no clue were he was right now. It took him around 10 minutes of asking around to find his way into familiar territory. He knew he didn't have much time, so he waited until he found a random flier, and flew to the arena. He didn't mean to, but he became friendly with this flier, maybe it was his appearance, he looked a lot like Ares. He was a little bit smaller, and was jet black, save the tips of his ears, his tails end, and 2 streaks going down both of his sides. All these other areas were bright gold, just like Aurora.

"So, whats your name?" Asked Gregor.

"My name is Chronos, I have heard much of you from my mother. I assume you have met her." said Chronos.

"I have? Who is your mother?" Asked Gregor.

"Aurora, bond of queen Luxa. My father I know you have meant. He was your old bond, Ares. I never got to meet him, I was born after the war of time, though I very much wish I could have meant him, he's practically legendary in the underland." Answered Chronos.

Gregor instantly felt terrible, it was because of his bad call that Ares was dead. Now he felt even worse about it, he had taken a father from his son.

"I'm so sorry. It was my bad call that caused his. . . you know. I still feel terrible about it to this day." Said Gregor.

"No need to apologize. I have heard the story many times. It was bound to happen one way or another. He gave his life for the underland. He gave his life so that peace may reign over us all, and I am sure he would have no regrets. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for it, he would want you to move on, to make sure that his sacrifice was not in vein." Said Chronos.

"You know, thank you. I have never actually though of it that way. He would want me to move on, to uphold all that he sacrificed himself for. Thank you, that already makes me feel much better." Said Gregor. It wasn't a lie either, he meant every word of it, this flier had just been the highlight of Gregor's day.

For the rest of the flight Gregor had told Chronos about Ares. What he was like, how he acted, everything, and it seemed that Chronos enjoyed hearing it very much. By the time they got the the arena, Gregor could see many people in the seats, including his family, and most of the royal family.

"Oh crap, what did Ripred do?" Asked Gregor.

"What do you mean? Was this suppose to be a private fight? All of Regalia knows of it." Said Chronos.

"yeah, it was suppose to be private." Said Gregor. He could hear one of the huh huh huh bat laughs coming from Chronos.

When they landed, well more like Gregor jumped off Chronos as they flew by, about an 8 foot jump, Gregor walked over to Ripred and said a few things to him.

"Well, it seems you _did_ have a few things to do didn't you? Half of Regalia is here!" Said Gregor.

"Yes I did, only more people to watch me squash the mighty warrior like a bug!" said Ripred. Apparently people had heard him because they could hear a loud "oooo" from the crowd.

"Well that didn't work out very well last time we fought in front of a crowd. Your snarky attitude will be the death of you, I swear it you old rat." Said Gregor, this earned an even larger "oooo" from the crowd, and with that, the fight began.

Gregor and Ripred began to circle each other. Gregor could hear his mom yelling at people to go get him out of there, saying that he was going to get himself killed. She shut up instantly when Ripred let out the first lighting-fast strike, which was blocked just as fast by Gregor. Ripred tried to use his tail to bring Gregor down to the ground, but only got his tail stuck underneath Gregor's foot, this limited Ripred's movement quite a bit. The fight went back and forth between the two for around an hour. A whole hour, they had fought. Neither of the two rager's showed a signal sign of tiring, though they were both covered with small nicks and scratches. This went on until the tides turned in Ripred's favor. Gregor was completely occupied by Ripred's claws, and it was obvious to everybody that Ripred could win it in an instant. His tail was right above Gregor, and could strike at any time, and end the fight. Gregor could hear loud gasps from the crowd, everybody knew what was happening. Gregor could see the look on Ripred's face. Ripred was indulged in overconfidence, he thinks he has just won this fight.

The entire crowd let out a loud gasp when Ripred brought his tail down. If you couldn't see the fight, you would have though that Gregor was dead. It was Ripred's overconfidence that was his undoing. He hadn't prepared for Ares claw, which Gregor had hanging from a necklace on his neck. Ripred brought his tail down, and literally got the end of it cut off as it came down, full force, onto the claw that Gregor had firmly held in his left hand. Gregor spun around very fast, taking advantage of Ripred's shock, and instantly had a sword to his neck, and the claw at this heart. This fight is over, a signal trick, and Gregor had won it.

This earned a dead silence from the crowd. Nobody had expected that, and they really didn't expect to see that much blood coming from the rat's tail. The silence won over everybody, everybody accept from warrior.

"When legends die, they die _hard_." Said Gregor, in a stern, victorious voice.

Gregor hadn't expected what would come next. The arena _exploded_ with cheers and yells, it was one of the loudest things Gregor had ever heard. He didn't expect this, but if he was surprised by this, then he was flabbergasted by the door of the arena breaking open, followed by about 20 or so Myriapods pouring into the arena.

* * *

**OHHHH CLIFFHANGER! So what did you guys think of the chapter? Once again I still feel like it was plot development up until the end. I HIGHLY doubt that you guys expected that to happen! I still need ideas for the story, so give me any and all thoughts, please, I desperately need them, unless you want to wait like 3-4 days for another chapter. So I am really happy with the support of this story so far, its one of the things helping me ignore the crude comments of the kids in my school. Just because I'm a boy, and I'm 13, does that mean I have to hate writing? Well it seems that's what other kids in my school think. Most of them have never even written more than 5 thousand words for one thing, and I'm over 45K for this story. So as usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!**

**Fly you all high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Thoughts?**

**Gregor- well, great, up until the end their, I just hope that nobody gets killed, though I know that there will be injuries.**

**Luxa- Well good, though Grace is a handful, and the end, well I'm terrified. I saw about 2 or 4 take out 20 of my men, and only because Ripred was their any of us survive, but now there are so many of them! At least 20!**

**Tytonic- well don't worry, Alex's surprise is almost done, and you will like it when it is, it will be a huge advantage, though no enough, it will go miles for this war.**

**Luxa- really?! what it is?**

**Tytonic- Well, I can't say right now, though I can say that a few people have ideas for the war, and I mean good ideas. You guys might just stand a chance, might.**

**Gregor- you serious? That' great!**

**Tytonic- Don't get to exited, I said might, if I had to guess I would say like a 40% chance, with all the ideas, though not everybody is done thinking, but nonetheless that's pretty good chances for your situation. Let me say one thing, you will need a lot of blacksmiths. So I'll let you think on that for now, see you later!**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye!**

* * *

**R&R peeps,**

**-Tytonic**


	14. Chapter 14: When Diplomacy Fails

** Hey guys! I am back with chapter 14! So, I was talking to my mom, and she said that all stories already exist, it's only a matter of writing them down, and I think I agree with her. I have been meaning to send Gregor and the gang (to much Scooby-doo? Haven't watched it in years) out on their quest for like 3 chapters now, though we all see were that went! This story is really starting to take shape, and I'm surprised that it hasn't really started all to much yet, it is kind of still in the beginning, were they haven't even started their quest yet, and I don't want to make this quest like the quests in the original books, I want to make it longer, more intense, more detailed, and overall better! So I know you are all eager to pick up were I left the story with that cliffhanger, and many of you probably skipped this authors note for that reason entirely, so enough with my endless rambling, and onto the story! As usual all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts! See you guys later!**

**Peace out guys,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 14: When Diplomacy Fails**

* * *

Gregor hadn't expected what would come next. The arena _exploded_ with cheers and yells, it was one of the loudest things Gregor had ever heard. He didn't expect this, but if he was surprised by this, then he was flabbergasted by the door of the arena breaking open, followed by about 20 or so Myriapods pouring into the arena.

* * *

**-O-**

* * *

This was bad, very bad. 20 men had barley lasted against a few Myriapods, and they had a rested, uninjured rager with them! Unlike then, there were now at least 20 Myriapods, and both Gregor and Ripred were spent from their fight, not to mention that part of Ripred's tail was missing, and he was loosing blood from it fast.

Gregor's vision began to blur up once more, though unlike during the prophecies, he was now in full control of it, and could turn it on and off with ease. He brought his sword up into a ready position, expecting everything to become a blur of claws, stingers, and weapons, but it never came. The Myriapods weren't attacking, though they all appeared ready to break into killing frenzies, it seemed they were seeking a diplomatic approach first.

One of the Myriapods stepped forward, well more like crawled. It was large, with a dark sapphire blue shell, though the tips of its mandibles were a dark red color. It looked larger then the other Myriapods, it seemed to be about another 5 feet long, putting it around 15 feet long.

The entire arena was quiet, and nobody spoke as the guards quickly evacuated the civilians, most likely at Luxa's order. Due to the uneasy silence, Gregor was able to clearly hear a deep clicking sound coming from the Myriapod. It echoed around the entire arena, making a sharply detailed image of everything from in Gregor's head (Echolocation is based on echos, so this would really do that). Following that once click, it made a series of slightly different pitched clicks. This thing was trying to communicate with the humans, though it should be obvious by the blank stares, that none of the humans could understand them.

Following a minute of uneasy silence, Gregor decided that something had to be done, so by tossing a few things around in his head, he decided on what to do.

"Luxa! Can you get Hazard down here? I think he might be able to communicate with them!" Yelled Gregor, making sure Luxa had heard.

At this point, the entire arena had been evacuated, and only Gregor's family, who had no doubt refused to leave, and the Royal family remained, plus many soldiers on fliers who were beginning to circle above, ready to dive down and attack at a moments notice. Ripred had been taken away to have his tail bandaged so the bleeding would stop before he would be allowed to return to battle. Using echolocation, Gregor could see Luxa raise her hand in a signal. One of the soldiers flying above dipped down and flew to Luxa, allowed Hazard to mount the bat, and proceeded to drop him off beside Gregor, who was still in a ready position.

"Hazard, do you think you can talk to them? If you can't I don't think anybody can." Said Gregor.

"I think I may be able to. It seems like a mix of many languages. I can hear some crawler and stinger, which I began to study after the war of time, though some of it I can't understand, but to answer your question, I think I can communicate with them." Responded Hazard.

"Well let's see what they have to say, cause I don't want to fight if we don't have to." said Gregor.

Hazard nodded and then began to let out some of the weirdest noises Gregor had ever heard, though judging by the Myriapods reaction, it seemed that these noises could be understood. The creature made some more noises as soon as Hazard had finished with his sounds.

"It seems they don't want to fight, they are not here to attack, they are only. . . looking for somebody." Said Hazard.

"Really? Well that's weird, can you try to figure out who they are looking for?" Asked Gregor.

Hazard once again nodded, and let out another string of random noises, though he paused a few times to think. The creature let out a string of sounds in response, though the one click. . . it seemed like it was said with great hatred, and despite the different language, it seemed like a name to Gregor.

"Well, If I understood them right, it seems like they are looking for one of their own kind, one named Xano. They say he is a traitor to his kind, and they believe that we may be housing him here in Regalia." Responded Hazard.

"Well can you tell them that we don't have him? I don't want a fight here, it would be to dangerous, not until we have an effective weapon against them." Asked Gregor.

"Well I can try, though I doubt that I can convince them of it." Said Hazard as he began another string of clicks and hisses.

The Myriapod responded, though it seemed very irritated. It crawled back to it's group, and slid into an aggressive position.

"Oh no, Gregor? They believe that I am lying. It said that it would kill everyone of us if it has to in order to find this traitor, apparently he is a very big threat to their kind." Said Hazard. Knowing it to be the best move, he raised his hand and jumped as high as he could, being caught by the same bat that had brought him down. He was flown back up to the underland equivalent of a VIP box.

Using echolocation, he could see that everybody heard Hazard, and everybody seemed to tense up. It was going to get very bloody in here very soon.

With one loud ear-splitting bloodcurdling screech, the Myriapods sprang into action. 5 humans were dead before they could register what had happened. Gregor was the closest to them, and he barely managed to get his sword into a position to block the attacks coming at him. Gregor spun around a pair of jaws coming at him, and using this vantage point, he drove the sword straight down through the weak spot in the creatures shell. Then ducking at the last second as a tail cut a few hairs off of his head, a blow that would have beheaded him had he not ducked. He proceeded to jump back up over a second tail that would have hit his shins had he not jumped.

Gregor knew that he couldn't do anything right now. There were 2 Myriapods on either side of his, going back and forth with the strikes. Gregor had to keep jumping and ducking to avoid getting hit. Knowing he couldn't do anything in a position like this, he whipped the dagger out of its sheath, and threw it straight at one of the Myriapods. The dagger went straight into the creatures neck as it spun around for another strike, it was dead instantly. Gregor jumped over another attack from the other creatures tail, and using it's short pause as it saw its comrade fall dead, he impaled it right through the neck with his sword.

After this scene, Gregor had a moment to look around and gain his bearings. There was fighting everywhere, and the Myriapods numbers were starting to dwindle. They had originally had about 20, but they now sat at around 6, though the humans, and some rats that had just arrived, were greatly struggling. Gregor looked around more, and spotted the leader of this group of Myriapods, the one Hazard had spoken to. He was like a lawnmower, mowing both humans and rats down, none even had time to react to his attacks because they were so fast. Nobody was landing a single strike on any part of him, though few people had a chance to so much as lift their claws or sword before they were dead.

This was what Gregor saw in his momentary glance, before he turned around to be faces with 3 Myriapods at the same time. It seemed every human and rat was focusing primarily on the leader, with no prevail. Gregor had just enough time to duck down as a tail slashed right at him, though it still scratched his arm, it was no more then a scrape. Gregor quickly rolled forward, thus dodging another strike, and he jumped onto the back of the one Myriapod.

Apparently they were not very smart, because the other 2 started to strike at Gregor, though no hits made contact, at least not with Gregor. Instead they hit the Myriapod that he was on, and slicing right through the shell, they killed it instantly. Realizing that this wasn't working, the one Myriapod lunged at Gregor, jaws wide. Stupid move, Gregor spun around just like he did the very first one, and impaled his sword straight through the neck. It took Gregor a full 3 seconds to pry out the sword, and yet in that time, his position compared to the last Myriapod kept him from getting struck by it. The Myriapod backed up about 5 feet when it saw Gregor pull his sword out. They stood about 10 feet from each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

This Mexican standoff was interrupted by a screech, and as Gregor turned to see what he already saw with echolocation, but didn't want to believe it. He spun just in time to see Luxa get whacked in the side of the head. She would have been killed immediately had the blade of the tail made contact, instead the side of the blade made contact, throwing her 15 feet straight into a wall, knocking her out immediately.

Gregor could see the leader making it's way over to finished Luxa off, and Gregor knew he had only one shot at saving her. Spinning around he threw his sword, and it went straight in the mouth of the lunging Myriapod he had a standoff with, and killed it immediately. Had he not thrown it, it would have completed its lunge Gregor would have a pair of mandibles in his neck.

Gregor spun back around and sprinted at the leader, knowing that if he got there, he would only have a second to kill it. He then realized that he had no weapon, he had lost both his sword and his dagger. As he was running, he could see that the Myriapod was over Luxa now, and ready to Plunge his mandibles into her neck. Gregor could see a long gash down the side of Luxa's leg, and he knew that if she didn't get medical attention very soon, she would bleed to death.

Gregor, using echolocation, could tell that the last Myriapod, save the leader, had been killed, and he was the only one close enough to get to Luxa in time. He could feel the eyes of almost every soldier on him,and he could tell that they to knew he was the only hope for the young queen.

Just as the Myriapod was about to strike into Luxa, Gregor realized something. He _did _have a weapon, he had Ares claw. Ares was looking out for him. Gregor ran and jumped as high as he could, and a couple feet off the ground, he crashed into the side of the leader. The force was enough to throw off the attack at Luxa, and make it hit the ground just inches to the right. Before Gregor could know what he was doing, he had completely lost himself in the rager. It was a different rager sensation though, he felt more powerful, he felt like a spectator in a body, he had no control whatsoever, like he was being forced to move. He would have to talk to Ripred about it later, it was so much different from normal rager, Ripred would have to know what it was. Gregor could still tell that he was stabbing the Myriapod in the neck over and over again with Ares claw. Once Gregor was sure it was dead, he felt the new rager feeling retract, and then turn back into normal rager, to were he shut it off completely, the threat was now gone.

Gregor could see the Myriapod, it looked like somebody had run a chainsaw into it's neck, and stopped cutting halfway. Gregor wasn't concerned with this in the slightest, his attention was on the unconscious young queen. Gregor ran and slid to his knees at Luxa's side. She looked fine, aside from the major amount of blood she was loosing from the gash she had on her left leg. Gregor knew there was almost nothing he could do to help, so he ripped his shirt off, and wrapped it around her leg. It would keep the blood in, at least until she could get to a hospital.

Gregor picked up Luxa effortlessly, he knew that it was bad that she was this light, she had lost _a lot _of blood. Gregor rushed her over to were the medics were just landing, and he loaded her onto the stretcher, fully aware of every eye in the arena on him, though he didn't care.

Gregor went over to the side of the arena and slumped down against it, onto the ground. He was so tired. With Ares bloody Claw still in his hand, he felt his eyes slowly slid shut, and suddenly, everything was black.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

Luxa felt herself come to consciousness, and she tried to open her eyes. It was an effort, but she managed to open her eyes fully to see the room she was in. She was in silky white cloths, very basic. She was lying on a medical bed, and she could feel stitches going down the side of her left leg.

Everything was still a blur in her eyesight, so she tried to sit up. When she finally got enough energy to push herself up, she felt a gentle hand on her chest lightly push her back down, accompanied by a familiar soothing voice.

"No Luxa, you need to rest, your still to weak to do much." Said Gregor.

"Gregor?" Asked Luxa in a raspy voice, she was very thirsty.

As is he could read her thoughts, she felt Gregor hold a cup of water up to her lips, and she could smell food somewhere in the room. This made her realize that she was also very hungry. She drank the entire cup, and two more after that before she was satisfied.

"What happened to me?" Asked Luxa, her voice returning to normal.

"The Myriapod put a deep gash on your left leg, as you can probably feel. You lost to much blood to stay conscious." Responded Gregor.

"Yes, what Gregor says is true. He saved your life, if it weren't for him you would have lethal poison in you, and two holes in your neck. You also lost to much blood to survive on." Said a voice that Luxa recognized as Howard.

"Well then how am I alive?" Asked Luxa, confused.

"Your lucky we are the same blood type." Said Gregor as he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a patch that you get after a shot.

"You did that?" Asked Luxa, shocked.

"Of coarse I did, I couldn't let you die." Responded Gregor.

"Thank you, so, how long was I unconscious?" Asked Luxa.

"Around 3 days, your body took a long time to accept the new blood." Responded Howard.

"3 Days? What has happened while I was unconscious?" Asked Luxa curiously.

"Well my mom is absolutely pissed that I had to fight, and she cried for 5 hours straight when she realized that what Ripred said about me being a rager was true. That I am a natural born killer. My mom said that I am never allowed to touch a sword again. I think everybody knows that's not going to happen." Responded Gregor.

"Okay, wait! What about the meeting?" Asked Luxa frantically.

"That has been rescheduled for after lunch tomorrow, it's about midday right now." Responded Gregor once again.

"Okay, good, I didn't want to miss it." Sighed Luxa with relief.

"I must go now, eat Luxa, I need to tend to other patients." Interrupted Howard as he walked out of the room.

"Umm. . . Thank you Gregor, for everything." Said Luxa.

"No, thank you. You gave me something to actually fight for. To actually care for." Said Gregor as he leaned down and kissed the completely flushed girl.

"I Love you" Whispered Gregor into Luxa's ear once he pulled away.

"I love you to. . . but. . . you know that it cannot be. . . I am engaged, I am to marry on my birthday, that is in a few weeks." Said Luxa, clear sorrow in her voice and expression.

"I could not live with that. . . just tell me one thing." Said Gregor.

"What is it?" Asked Luxa.

"Tell me that you don't truly love him." Responded Gregor.

"I am being forced into a loveless marriage. I do not love him. I have argued it over with the council many times, but now they will not hear of the matter, they only call the guards to take me out of the room. I have no choice in the matter." Said Luxa, everything of her showing sorrow.

"Thank you Luxa, I promise I will try to save you from this loveless marriage, though I cannot guarantee success." Said Gregor.

"Just try." Whispered Luxa quietly.

* * *

**-O-**

* * *

_He was running through the cave, his only chance of escape. He whipped his tail around and stabbed it through a guard as he bolted out the exit of the cave, he was free. Free, finally free._

_ He ran and ran and ran. He could sense the pack of pursuers on his tail. He would not be able to outrun them, he would have to outsmart them. _

_ It was probably about an hour when he could feel their breath on his back, he had gotten to the canyon's edge just in time. He knew he had once chance. He came to an abrupt stop at the edge of the cliff, and went translucent. _

_ They had no clue what had happened, but in a literal flash he was behind them, and in another flash, they were falling off the cliff._

_ He knew that he was lucky on that one. It wasn't often that he could manage to control his abilities like that. That was way to close for comfort._

_ "I am an official traitor to my kind. I must find the humans, and I must join them, fight alongside them. My kind must not win this war, for the sake of all life, they must not._

* * *

** That's just about a wrap on it guys! I like how I did the end, I am sure most of you can guess who's Point of View it is from, well if you payed attention you will. One word, Symphyla. Only I know what it means, but with good old internet anybody can find out! I never expected to do what I'm going to do, and it will either be really good or really bad, but if I have any confidence in myself as a writer (which I don't) I would know that I could make it work. Two more words, Flasher, and Slasher. Tell me what you guys think each word means, and you will find out in the next chapter! So as usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated, see you guys later!**

**Peace peeps,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Thoughts on chapter?**

**Gregor- Yes, what was with that rager thing I had? **

**Tytonic- Ask Ripred, I don't feel like explaining it.**

**Luxa- What rager thing? Is something wrong Gregor?**

**Gregor- No, just when I was fighting, something, different happened. . . I can't explain it.**

**Luxa- You need to talk about it?**

**Gregor- No, I just need to ask Ripred about it.**

**Tytonic- Well thoughts? Neither of you answered me really.**

**Gregor- It was good, but you absolutely terrified me in that fight!**

**Luxa- Good, but the pain was terrible! I can't even remember most of the fight now.**

**Tytonic- Well, I have to go now, kind of pressed on time here so see ya later!**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye!**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**R&R little ones,**

**-Tytonic**


	15. Chapter 15: Nightfall and Dawn

**Welcome back my friends! There is somebody you have to meet, his name is chapter 15! So, it seems that nobody got what a flasher or slasher is! I am fairly certain that you will only find out what a slasher is in this chapter, though it might be a while before you find out what a flasher is. You all already know what a slasher is, though you guys just don't know the name fits it. Its like spiders, they are not called spiders in the underland, they are called spinners, this is the case with Myriapods, they slash things with their tail, their main weapon. Thank you all or the ideas I've been getting from you guys, they are all great, and I'm using almost everyone's idea's! (well not the one, it said kill the main character at the beginning of my next story -.-). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, for I have no clue what it will be about (I have no clue how I managed 14 chapters so far and still haven't gotten to the quest yet xD). As usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so let me read your minds! See you guys after the chapter, bye!**

**See you all later,  
**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 15: Nightfall and Dawn**

* * *

"I am being forced into a loveless marriage. I do not love him. I have argued it over with the council many times, but now they will not hear of the matter, they only call the guards to take me out of the room. I have no choice in the matter." Said Luxa, everything of her showing sorrow.

"Thank you Luxa, I promise I will try to save you from this loveless marriage, though I cannot guarantee success." Said Gregor.

"Just try." Whispered Luxa quietly.

* * *

_The Next Morning. . ._

* * *

Gregor awoke groggily from his dream, in a bad cold sweat, and unlike every other night since he has returned to the Underland, he actually had a nightmare. The nightmare had been very unsettling, it had started out as most of his dream did nowadays. He was in a large open area, though unlike previously, he wasn't in a field in the overland, he was in a large cavern in the underland. There were people everywhere, and they all seemed be surrounding a stage in the middle of the cavern, watching whatever event was occurring on the stage. Gregor shouldered his way through all of the people, though they were not all people, they were a mix of gnawers, fliers, crawlers, and humans. Once Gregor got to the front of the crowd, he saw what all the commotion was about, and his heart skipped a beat. Luxa was in a wedding gown, standing hand in hand with another man, who was in a tuxedo. Gregor could not see Luxa's face, though he would assume that there was sorrow on it, he would _hope _that there was sorrow on it.

Gregor was frozen in place, he couldn't move at all. He had to sit through the entire ceremony, and watch painfully as the ceremony came to the end, and as the bride and groom kissed. As if Gregor was suffering enough from this, when the bride and groom turned towards the crowd, Gregor could see Luxa's face. She looked _happy, _and even worse, when she spotted him, their eyes locked, and he could read hatred on every inch of her face. It was torture, because it didn't end, the look never faded, and neither of them looked away. It felt like all of forever that this lasted, until finally Gregor's eyes shot open, and he shot up in a cold sweat.

"Just a dream, it was just a dream." Whispered Gregor to himself, in an attempt to soothe himself, and it worked, to some degree.

Gregor rubbed his eyes a little, and slid out of his bed, his breathing starting to return to normal. He slowly straitened his back, and stretched a little, satisfied with the cracks he got in return. He walked out of his room, already knowing nobody would be outside of it, and walked for a grand total of 15 seconds down the hall to the bathrooms.

When he walked in, he stripped down completely, and set his cloths next to the pile of cloths already there. He went over to an unoccupied warm bath, and slid into it, feeling his muscles relax as he settled in. Using echolocation, he already knew Alex was in the bath beside his.

"Hey Alex hows it going?" Asked Gregor.

"Good, though I have a lot of work today." Responded Alex.

"Work? Don't you have blacksmith training?" Asked Gregor, confused.

"Yes, but I have some stuff to present at the meeting later today, and I need to get everything ready." Said Alex.

"Oh you do? What you presenting?" Asked Gregor.

"You'll see later, and I think you'll like it a lot." Responded Alex.

"Ok, so whats up with Zoey? I can't even get within 100 feet of her, and I have a feeling you talked to her." Asked Gregor.

"Well, yes I have talked to her, but I can't really say she has a hold of herself. She is absolutely broken right now, I have no clue how to help her, and its clear that you won't be able to, well unless you went right up to her and kissed her, but even then she would probably slap you." Said Alex with some dry humor.

"Yes well, you know that I'm not going to do that." Said Gregor.

"So, whats going on between you and the queen?" Asked Alex.

"Well you can't tell anybody what I'm about to say, though a lot of people know, you still can't. I love her, and she loves me. The problem is, in a few weeks, she is being forced into a loveless marriage." Said Gregor.

"Well I figured the in love part, but what do you mean 'forced'? Can't she just say no?" Asked Alex.

"What part of forced didn't you get?" Asked Gregor.

"Well they came from England right? England has Christianity, so their wedding are the same as ours. That means that during the ceremony, they have to do the whole 'I do' part. She could just say no couldn't she? What is the worst they would do, kill her? No she is the queen, they can't just punish the queen." Said Alex.

"True, but I talked to Luxa about that already. She could say no, but in turn they would un-crown her, so she would no longer be queen, it would be passed to her cousin Nerissa, that visionary frail girl. If she doesn't get married that day, she will cease to be queen." Responded Gregor.

"Really? Well that sucks, I wouldn't want to make that choice. Being happy, or being queen, well king in my case. I would probably still choose being happy, and cease being king. I mean, who wants to live a miserable life? Not me." Said Alex.

"Same here, though I talked to her about that to, she said she has a duty to her people, and she can't just abandon them." Said Gregor.

"Good point, though I don't think the people would blame her all to much, most would understand." Said Alex.

"I agree, but try telling that to her, she just won't believe it. It's the only thing keeping her from flat out stopping this marriage. Now can we get going to breakfast? I'm starving!" Said Gregor.

"Ok, same here, I can hear my stomach growling!" Said Alex.

Gregor and Alex got out of the baths and dressed in the new clothing that was waiting for them. They both had the same cloths, black pants with white shirts. They both headed down to the dinning room for breakfast. When they arrived they found everybody waiting, all except for Ripred, who was always the last to arrive.

Gregor took the seat to Luxa's left, the seat he always took. Alex took a seat next to Zoey, who was all the way at the other end of the table, as far away from Gregor and Luxa as possible. She didn't so much as spare a glance at anybody, she only started down at her food as she poked around at it. Alex glanced at her with a worried look on his face, it was clear that she wasn't ok in the least.

During breakfast they didn't talk of much, though they did talk a lot about the meeting, and some ideas that some of them had, or have heard from other people. Nobody had any promising ideas, save Alex, who claimed his idea was great, but they all had to wait till the meeting to see it.

After breakfast, everybody headed down to the arena. Well, almost everybody, they all went to their respective places to be. Gregor flew on Chronos, and could see the look Luxa was giving them both, she seemed pleased that he and Gregor were taking a shine to each other. Alex went down to the forge, and Zoey went to the library. Luxa went to training with Gregor, though she would have to leave early in order to prepare for the meeting.

For the most part training went on as it usually did. Gregor didn't spar Ripred or Luxa, though he did spar just about every other person in the arena. He even beat every signal one of the top ten fighters, save Hayden, who Gregor had yet to meet.

Gregor had taken a brief break with Luxa before she had to leave, and head back to the palace. Making sure nobody was watching, Gregor pecked her on the cheek just before she whistled and flew away on Aurora. Perhaps 15-20 minutes later Mareth called Gregor over to him.

"Hey Mareth, how's it going?" Asked Gregor as he approached Mareth.

"Good, though I have something to give to you." Responded Mareth as he began to unwrap a cloth he was holding.

Once he finished unwrapping the cloth, Gregor saw that he was holding a sheath with a dagger in it. There was a strap attached to the sheath that looked different from anything Gregor had ever seen, and the whole thing practically screamed quality.

"I don't even know what to say. . . This is amazing! Just how does the strap work?" Asked Gregor, as he slid the dagger out of it's sheath.

"It is good to know you like it. The strap goes around your waist, while the extra strap goes on top of your shoulder. The sheath points downward, so it can be concealed under clothing, and the dagger can be taken out with ease." Said Mareth.

"Thank you so much, this will help tremendously. We have to go now, looks like training is over, better get back to the palace. See you later!" Said Gregor.

"Fly you high, Gregor!" Said Mareth as Gregor let out a whistle, calling out to Chronos.

Gregor wasn't bonded with Chronos, though judging by how close they already were, even after only five days, they most likely would. Gregor jumped as high as he could, and with how light he felt, he got higher then usual. He landed on Chronos's back and greeted the bat.

"Hey Chronos how's it going?" Asked Gregor.

"Good, the flight training was difficult, but I am improving greatly. How fare you?" Asked Chronos.

"Good, Mareth had me try out this dagger as I fight, and I use it in my left hand." Said Gregor, pulling the dagger out of the sheath on my chest.

"I would assume that helps you greatly with defense, and may help with attacking, though not very much. How high of quality?" Asked Chronos.

"It is great quality. It is just about the same as my old sword." Said Gregor.

"That will be helpful. I can tell that you have a chest sheath for it; I would suggest putting that on underneath any clothing, and you should keep it with you as often as possible." Said Chronos.

"Why would you say that?" Asked Gregor.

"For safety, I have heard talk about you. Not everybody thinks of you as the savior of the underland, few think quite the opposite. Those few would like to see you killed, and I do not doubt that they would attempt to assassinate you." Responded Chronos.

"Well that's comforting, knowing it have people out for my head. Thanks for telling me, I will keep an eye, or rather an ear, out just in case." Said Gregor.

They both continued their conversation as they headed off to the palace, and in about 2 minutes they arrived. Gregor jumped off of Chronos in highhall before he even landed, so he never had to stop flying. Gregor made his way to the dinning room, were he found everybody waiting for his arrival. He took his seat aside Luxa.

"Gregor, what is that dagger?" Asked Luxa.

"Mareth gave it to me. I'm gonna put it on underneath my shirt later, so that I can always wear it without it bothering me. Chronos warned me of people who don't approve of me, who think I did more harm then good to the underland. He told me I should keep the dagger on me at all times, just in case." Responded Gregor.

"Yes, that would be wise. The monument of you has been sabotaged several times." Said Luxa.

"Gregor honey, you should not have the dagger or a sword, you will hurt yourself! You are to young to have that type of thing!" Explained Gregor's mother.

"Mom, we have gone over this before. I won't hurt myself with any type of blade, I am the best there is with a sword, not trying to brag here. I am not to young to handle a blade, especially not in the underland; they start training at a very young age." Said Gregor.

Gregor's mom looked like she was about to pop a fuse because Gregor talked back at her, but she refrained from saying anything when she got a glare from Luxa. This was an argument she could not win.

The rest of luncheon went very uneventful, though Alex seemed very exited about his presentation at the meeting, and Zoey was just as sulky as ever. After lunch, Gregor headed out to the bathroom to bath, he truly did smell like a horse.

After he bathed, he headed out to the meeting, which was starting just about now. It took him a few minutes to arrive, but when he did he found only a few more people had to arrive before they began. He took a seat next to Luxa, on her right, and he had Alex on his right. It took a few minutes for the rest of the people to arrive, but he occupied himself with conversation with Luxa.

"Attention! We have gathered here today to discuss the growing threat of the slashers. For those of you who have not heard, the Myriapods have taken the nickname of slashers. Due to my injury, we have had five days rather then 3 to come up with ideas to face this threat. I believe many of you have come up with ideas. Begin your presentations, I believe you all have orders already, so proceed in those orders." Said Luxa in a regal voice.

There were more ideas then Gregor would have imagined. Most were strategies, such as dropping oil from fliers, and special traps, such as weak rock so when a slasher walked upside down on it, it fell off of the roof. Their were a lot of bad ideas, some decent, and very few actually good idea. The only good ideas were obsidian arrows, which would be able to pierce the shell, though not all of it, so it didn't kill the slasher, only slightly wound it. Something to improve this idea came when a general, probably around 40 years old, though of using the slasher's poison on current weapons. The poison was so strong that if you counted the arrow with it, the small wound it made would be filled with enough poison to kill the slasher 10 times over. There was now only one person left to present, Alex.

"Hello, people of Regalia. Before I begin, I ask you to not doubt me just because I am an overlander. I believe this to be once of the best ideas so far. Before I present, I must teach you all a few facts first. I believe you have all heard of diamond. It is so strong, that nothing, save itself, can damage it. When I first though of this, I came to an idea, what if the slashers armor was similar? What if only it can actually cut through itself? I used some of their shell to test this, though on a smaller scale due to limited resources. Using overland methods, which I have now taught to George, your greatest blacksmith, I have been able to use the shell, mixed with other metals, in order to make weapons strong enough to cut through the shell with a normal swing. I was so far only able to test this on a small scale, though witnessing the recent battle, I saw Gregor here trick a slasher into slashing it's own ally. I later examined that exact body, and realized that it cut straight through the armor, and through all of the flesh. The only thing that was holding the body together was a small part of the shell. I can proudly say that the tail, which is the same material as the shell, was that strong, and that with my mixture of metal and shell, it almost doubles it's strength. Using another overland method, though very complicated, I have made a metal stronger then anything the underland has ever seen. This metal is called carbon steel, and using this metal and some slasher shell, I have made a sword that can cut clean through the shell as easily as through flesh. I will demonstrate this now." Said Alex. He had always had a knack for public speaking.

Two underlanders came in with a cart, and took a slasher off of the cart and set it on the table in the middle of the room. Alex, without a word, went over to his seat, and took a sword out, as well as a dagger. They were both in an amazing sheath that already screamed quality. He went over to Gregor and handed him the sword.

"Gregor, seeing as to you are the warrior, I have used the best of the materials to make this sword and dagger. Consider is a gift from me to you. It is now yours." Said Alex as he handed the sword and dagger over to Gregor.

"Thank you Alex. I can see already that this may be one of the best swords I have ever held. The dagger is much better then any I have ever seen too. Good thing it's the same size as my other new dagger, I can use it in the current sheath. How in the world did you learn to do this so fast?" Asked Gregor as he took the sword, and slid the dagger into his sheath on his chest.

"In some free time I had, I got a random flier to take me to the Central Park gateway. I have 3G on my phone, so I got internet. I used the internet to figure all of this stuff out I had saved screenshots of the instructions. I wish I could learn more, but my phone is next to dead. Now, will you do the honors of testing it out of the slasher on the table?" Asked Alex.

"It would be my honor." Said Gregor as he pulled the sword from it's sheath.

It was the best sword he ever held. It was very light, just as balanced as Sandwich's sword, much sharper, and much cooler. It was a very dark sapphire color with sapphire's decorating the handle. It look amazing, and was definitely a sword fit for a warrior. Gregor walked over to the slasher, every eye in the room on him, and held the sword up, ready to stab downwards onto the creature. When he brought the sword down, he did so with all his force, expecting great resistance. Instead, the sword cut through like butter, and went out the other side, and into the table, and out the bottom of the table.

Everybody in the room gasped as this happened, and Gregor felt _great_ being able to call this sword his. Now all he had to do was name it.

"Nightfall and Midnight." Said Gregor.

"Excuse me?" Asked Alex.

"The swords name is Nightfall, and the daggers name is Midnight." Responded Gregor.

"Okay then, fitting names. So, as you can see, this sword is very powerful, and I apologize for the table, I didn't expect to have it go right through. Now, seeing this work I have one more thing." Said Alex as he walked up to his seat, and took out another sword.

"As you can all see, I have made another sword. This sword was made specifically for the queen. Your highness." Said Alex as he kneeled down in front of Luxa, presenting the sword for her.

Luxa took the sword and slid it out of its sheath. It was longer and thinner than Gregor's, and it was a deep purple color, decorated with amethysts. It was just as nice as Gregor's sword, though it was fit more for Luxa's style of fighting as well as taste.

Luxa over at Gregor, with a look that showed she was in deep thought. She remembered something from a book in the museum, so,eying about a time of day.

"Dawn. I shall call this blade Dawn." Said Luxa.

"Thank you Alex, I shall put this weapon to great use." Said Luxa as she slid the sword back into it's sheath.

"People of the underland! This shall conclude our meeting today, now it is only a matter of the council to determine what methods we shall, and shall not use. I thank you al-" Said Luxa as she got cut off by a guard bursting through the curtains at the doorway of the room, gasping for air.

"Q-queen L-luxa! We, we have an issue! There is a signal slasher at out gates. It is able to speak our tongue, and requests to speak with you. It is. . . different then the other slashers. This one is clear, and has shown no sign of hostility." Gasped out the guard.

"Meeting dismissed, thank you all for your time. Now, take me to this slasher." Said Luxa.

Luxa, Gregor, and two guards headed down to the gateway to the city, and when they got there, they found about fifteen guards surrounding a signal, translucent slasher. He was showing no sign of hostility. They landed, and Luxa approached the slasher, though she stayed a square fifteen feet from it.

"My name is queen Luxa of Regalia, what business do you have here, slasher?" Asked Luxa.

"I have come in request to join you in the war against my kind. My name is Xano."

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**Well, anybody recognize the name Xano? Well you should, if not then go read last chapter. Now, I'm gonna tell you all a little secret. A flasher is sort of like a rager, so tell me what you guys think it is. Now, I have very little time right now, so I'm going to keep this short, so sorry, I have no time to make the little chat thingamabob at the end. As usual, all responses are encouraged and appreciated, so give me ideas! See you guys later!**

**R&R guys,**

**-Tytonic**


	16. Chapter 16: Xano's Story

**Hello people, and say hello to chapter 16! You know, I swear I already wrote over half of this chapter, but I have absolutely no clue what happened to it. I remember starting to write it, but then finding that I wasn't in the mood, and thus I saved and went to watch youtube. Well, either way the chapter is here, so no worries! Now, more of you tried to guess what a flasher is, though many people got close, nobody hit the bulls eye. You should find out what a flasher is in this chapter, if not then expect to find out what it is soon. Some of you are also thinking that Gregor is no longer a rager, but something beyond that. I can't tell you what it is as of now, though I can say that he is still a rager, and he is still discovering his true potential. So, as usual, all feed back is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts! See you all after the chapter!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 16: Xano's story**

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Luxa, Gregor, and two guards headed down to the gateway to the city, and when they got there, they found about 15 guards surrounding a signal, translucent slasher. He was showing no sign of hostility. They landed, and Luxa approached the slasher, though she stayed a square 15 feet away from the creature.

"My name is queen Luxa of Regalia, what business do you have here, slasher?" Asked Luxa.

"I have come in request to join you in the war against my kind. I am he named Xano."

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**-O-**

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"Xano? Isn't that the traitor the slasher that attacked us mentioned?" Whispered Gregor into Luxa's ear.

"Yes, I believe so. Despite this, I do not trust him, I should have him killed now." Whispered Luxa back.

"I don't trust him either, but don't kill him, if he is to be trusted, then we will have great need of him. Just have him like, locked up of something, so he can't hurt anybody. I would like to talk to him, in private." Responded Gregor.

"I do not think that is a good idea, though I have trust in your judgment." Whispered Luxa.

"Guards, contain him. Make sure there is absolutely no chance that he can so much as move." Said Luxa.

Luxa and Gregor watched as the guards began to tied up the slasher. Aside from how scarred the guards were, knowing that the slasher could kill them all in moments, seemed to have no trouble whatsoever tying the slasher up.

"Xano, why are you not resisting?" Asked Gregor.

"I have no desire to hurt your kind. To be truthful, I expected to be attacked on sight. I have knowledge that will be very valuable in this war, for I had a former rank as general." Responded Xano.

"Well ok then. Gather your thoughts, I am going to speak to you later, privately." Said Gregor.

"Gregor, are you sure that this is a wise decision? There is something about this slasher that makes me feel. . . helpless, like I am but the fish, whilst he is the hungry flier." Whispered Luxa.

"I feel it too, it is like he is radiating power. I am certain that if he wanted it so, we would all be lying in our own blood right now. I don't think we have the choice of killing him, we never did." Said Gregor.

"I regret to admit it, but I fear you are right." Said Luxa.

The flight back to the palace was uneventful, though it was only a few short minutes anyway. Gregor had asked Chronos to fly close to Aurora so that Gregor and Luxa could talk without the guards hearing. Luxa wouldn't want anybody to know how concerned Luxa truly was. They talked about few things, though the most brought up topic was how this slasher was clear, rather then any other color, and why he would betray his kind. Before that moment the humans were almost 100% sure that the slashers were like the cutters, that they were loyal to their leader no matter what.

When they landed in highhall, both Gregor and Luxa dismounted from their fliers. Neither of the guards that had flown with them landed, they fly in place for a few moments to see that their queen had landed safely, and they flew off to what Gregor assumed to be training, or guard duty. Both Gregor and Luxa followed a guard that had appeared down to a interrogation room, were Xano was supposedly being held. It took around 3 minutes to walk their, and when they arrived they found 2 guards on either side of a large stone door.

"Gregor wait, I am coming in too." Proclaimed Luxa.

"Luxa, you know that it is far to dangerous." Responded Gregor.

"Yes I know, but I am queen, it is important for me to hear this. Besides, how much danger can I be in with the warrior at my side?" Said Luxa.

Gregor just rolled his eyes, and walked into the door that had just been opened by the effort of three guards. He waved his hand, signaling Luxa to follow him in. He was fully aware of the grin on her face, how she could make him do absolutely anything she wanted him to.

When they both arrived in the circular stone room, Luxa signaled two guards that were already in the room out, and as they left, the door closed behind them. Both Gregor and Luxa drew their swords and stood before the figure in the center of the room.

Xano was completely tied up, everything covered by ropes and chains, save the face. Since slasher's don't use their actual jaws to talk, only their throats, his jaws were chained back so they couldn't move.

"Okay, so Xano, you said you had some important information that would greatly aid us?" Asked Gregor.

"Indeed. As I previously stated, I am a former general of the Myriapods. I was of the highest ranks, I have knowledge of almost every plan, strength, and weakness of my kind." Said Xano. It looked creepy to see him talk with his jaws chained back, he mouth kind of vibrated slightly, and a voice came from it.

"If so, speak, I would like to hear of them all. Do not worry, I _might _have you untied, _if _I believe that you have told us everything, and will not attack once free." Said Luxa, from Gregor's side.

"I would not dream of it." Said Xano. Luxa would not take anything from him, nothing.

"speak, _now_." Said Luxa angrily.

"Very well. I shall start with one of the largest facts. The Myriapod leader, King Kedvor, does not care about any once species specifically, his goal is simply to take over the entire underland. The Myriapods once ruled over the entire underland, and any species that existed were slaves, under the Myriapods control. This was the case for millions upon millions of years, however, one day, a new enemy appeared, as if from nowhere. I believe they are called, in your tongue, the cutters. No being had ever seen such a force, and we had never faced such an enemy. One day they swarmed in from the unknown lands, lands much farther away from the known lands today, a land so far away that it lays below what the overlanders call 'California'. They came in numbers far larger then we could have imagined possible. While the Myriapods had numbers ranging from 100-200 million, they had numbers over 2 billion. It took a total of 700 years for this war to end, and as you would expect, the Myriapods lost. We retreated to hidden caverns, a far smaller land hidden beneath the underland, and we sealed the entrances. Only about 10 thousand of us survived. After what I believe to be around 1 million years, it was but earlier this month that we emerged. We had intentions of staying in seclusion for another million or so years, until an earthquake caused a large cave-in, causing us to flee from this area. As of now, we stand around 1 million strong." Explained Xano.

"Wait, so if that is true, then what happened to all of the cutters? They do not die easily, if there were truly over a billion of them, they would still be thriving in those numbers today." Asked Luxa, clearly not believing this story.

"Very good question. We were not 100% trapped in this cavern though, I have my ways, and I had access to the rest of the underland. I discovered that they were all killed, by a plague. I also discovered much about this plague. I know a cure for it, as well as were this plague once resided. It seemed that it only affected cold blood creatures. It would be a great weapon against the Myriapods, unfortunately, it seems that it ceased to exist thousands upon thousands of years ago." Said Xano.

"If you know so much about it, then why are you alive? Wouldn't you have gotten it as well, and been killed?" Asked Luxa.

"Another very good question. You see, I am not a Myriapod, but rather a Symphyla. A Symphyla is closely related to a Myriapod, but yet are much rarer, and as you can see, translucent. Me and only one other of my kind still exist. Unlike Myriapods though, my kind lives much longer, you see I am millions upon millions of years old." Said Xano.

"You are that old? That would explain why you would know all of this, though it does not explain how you would survive a plague. Explain." Said Luxa.

"Yes, it does explain much. The reason I was not affected by the plague, was because, like only 1 other time in history, I am a flasher." Said Xano.

"A flasher, what is a flasher?" Asked Luxa.

"A flasher is similar, yet very different from what humans call a rager. A flasher is warmblooded, though its original species is not. This grants it extraordinary abilities. As you would guess, the fact that I am warmblooded prevents me from being victim of the plague." Said Xano.

"So your sort of like me? I am a rager, your a flasher. So you can fight much better then most?" Asked Gregor.

"Indeed, though a flasher has more speed and agility than a rager does, whilst a rager has more strength and power. Being a flasher is much more uncommon then being a rager, and aside from me, it has only occurred one other time. It is believed that being a flasher is passed through blood, and only one can exist at a time. My father was the previous flasher, though according to what I have been told, he died at the very moment I was born. There are secrets about being a flasher that even I have yet to discover, such as outraging." Said Xano.

"What's outraging?" Asked Gregor.

"Outraging is when your flasher, or in your case rager, senses are enhanced, kind of like adrenaline specifically for your rager/flasher. I have only had this happen a few times, it seems to only occur in time of great emergency. You lose all control over your body, and you do _anything_ you need to in order to save whoever is in danger. You see, it never activate when you yourself are in danger, only when something or somebody you care greatly about is in danger. It takes away your sense of self-safety as well; you will make many reckless and idiotic moves, though the heightened senses are more then enough to make up for the reckless actions." Said Xano.

"Gregor, have you ever had that happen to you?" Asked Luxa, horrified at the idea of loosing all control whatsoever over your body.

"Well. . . only once, around 5 days ago. It was when you were pinned to the ground, completely unconscious, with a slasher moments away from burying its fangs into your neck. I had no control, and I only remember gaining control once the slasher was dead, and had enough damage to die 10 times over again." Said Gregor, hanging his head, blushing deeply.

"That is true? I heard guards saying that you were like an. . . an animal killing the slasher, but I only believed them to be rumors." Said Luxa, as she took Gregor's hand, seeing the obvious discomfort.

"It is a terrible feeling, I lost all control, it was like being inside somebody else's body, I couldn't do anything but watch as I tore through slashers like nothing. I feel like such a monster." Said Gregor, sorrow showing in his voice.

"Well, queen, that clearly proves that he has deep feelings for you. I'm not going to get myself mixed up in your drama, but when it happened to me, it was when my loved ones were killed right in front of me, slaughtered. The king knew of my ability, and wanted to control me, so whenever I did something wrong, he would have somebody close to me killed, he had full control over me, through my loved ones. I ended up killing him out of pure anger when he tied up my mate, and executed her right in front of me. The only reason I was not attacked and killed, was because everybody was to afraid of me to attempt it, knowing that I would just kill them. The only other time it happened, while not under the rule of this king, was a few years ago, when I saw a Myriapod murder six newborns. My brother's children. I was very close to them, and they were like my own children to me, considering that their father was very rarely around to see them." Said Xano.

"That's. . . that's just terrible!" Muttered Luxa, eyes wide with horror.

The interrogation went on for around another 2 days. In these 2 days Luxa had food brought in for both Gregor and her, as well as beds. They would take shifts listening to Xano spit out all of this information. At one point it became far to much information to possibly remember, and they had multiple scrolls brought in, and they had to start copying all of the information down.

This time was very boring, and tiring, but yet, it seemed that Xano needed no food nor water, and could keep talking endlessly. Honestly, to admit it, Gregor was really starting to like this overgrown bug.

It had been around 2 days when Xano finally started to come to a conclusion. Not only that, but it was a horrifying conclusion.

"The only hope we have of winning this war, is to find and kill every signal member of the royal bloodline. The Myriapods are like the cutters, they have endless loyalty to their leader, and will follow any and all orders without question. This also means that they will never do anything without an order." Said Xano.

"So if we kill their king they will fall into chaos? Sort of like in the prophecy of gray, when king Gorger died, the rats fell into chaos." Said Luxa.

"Yes, indeed. The leader ship will pass onto the next in the royal family though, and they will continue their assault on the underland. In order for the plan to work, we would need to kill every member of the royal family." Said Xano.

"Wait, if we kill the entire royal bloodline, then won't a new royal family emerge, and take control of the Myriapods?" Asked Luxa.

"Yes, though it would take hundred of years. All of the Myriapods grew up knowing only of taking orders, never of making orders. They would need to adapt, they would need to learn how to make think for themselves." Responded Xano.

"So what are you saying? Won't they just try to take over again once they are ready?" Asked Luxa.

"Yes, they would attempt it. This is were I make a proposal. I see the obvious benefits of having the humans as ally's. I am one of few that have the strength, the will, and the freedom required in order to take control of the Myriapods. I would ensure that piece reigns. I believe that an alliance between the rats, humans, fliers, and Myriapods would create a force beyond comprehension. It would create the most fruitful peace the underland has ever seen. All of our species would benefit greatly from it. " Said Xano.

"I agree with this, though this would only be the case if all you say is true. We have no way of knowing it is true. You have not gained our trust." Said Luxa.

"I see both of your points. I say that we should not make to big of steps here. We should continue the war as is for a time, at least until we know we can trust Xano. If he is to be trusted, then we have a path strait to some of the best moments op the underland has ever seen." Said Gregor.

"I see your point Gregor, and I fully agree. We should continue as we are now until we can trust Xano, and then we can decide on further actions." Said Luxa.

"Well, should we ask the council? You know that they would be against it, and they would try to have Xano executed." Said Gregor.

" That is true. We cannot allow the council to know of this. They would also never allow us to go on a quest in to the uncharted lands, so I think that we should only allow those who would accompany us to know. I believe that you already know who all would accompany us." Said Luxa.

"Yes I do. Know, how about we get something to eat, and then get some sleep? We could have a little fun after you wake up to." Said Gregor.

"Yes, That would be nice. As queen I never have any time to do anything fun. I get such little sleep, that when I have free time, I usually sleep more." Said Luxa.

"Well that really sucks. Can we go now? I'm starving, and I need to see my mom before she gets herself thrown in the dungeon, if she hasn't already. By the way, what do we do with Xano here?" Asked Gregor.

"Honestly, I would have a room prepared for him, though I have no clue how he lives, I shall ask him." Said Luxa.

"Xano, I shall have you released, though I have no knowledge of your species living habits, so what shall I do? Do you wish to have a room?" Asked Luxa.

"The living habits of my kind are rather poof compared to humans. I shall have a room, though it should have nothing in it, not even light." Said Xano.

"Very well, I shall have it prepared. In the mean time do you care to join us for a meal? You must be famished." Asked Luxa.

"I could go for another week without food, though I will take your offer, thank you." Said Xano.

"I shall have you cleaned, and prepared for a meal, then sent to the dinning room. Please ignore all poor looks you get, for I feel you will get quite a lot." Said Luxa.

"Thank you, queen Luxa, this is far kinder treatment than I expected." Said Xano.

Luxa nodded and left the room, giving commands to the guards to complete all she promised for Xano. They all looked at her like she was crazy, but followed her orders nonetheless. Gregor and Luxa both went down to their washrooms together (the washroom Luxa uses is in the same direction as the private one Gregor and his friends use). They had random conversations most of the walk, though most of the talk ended up being Gregor telling Luxa about the overland, and her wanting to do things like watch a movie or ride in a car. Gregor let his imagination wander about the movie part, maybe it was possible to show her one, before they went on a suicide mission to assassinate a king.

Gregor turned into his washroom and said goodbye to Luxa (not before giving her a quick kiss, and staring into her eyes for a minute or so). He walked into the Washroom, and stripped, setting his cloths next to Alex's. He then slid into a bath, and called to Alex like he usual does.

"Hey Alex, how's it going?" Asked Gregor.

"Great dude, were have you been for the past 2 days?" Asked Alex.

"Interrogating that slasher. It turns out he is really old, and I mean really old. He is over a million years old! That met that he had a crap load of stuff to tell us." Said Gregor.

"Wow, over a million years old?! How long do they live?!" Asked Alex.

"Well he is a special type of slasher. His type will live forever, or at least until he gets killed, which is highly unlikely." Said Gregor.

"Oh ya, what's going on with Zoey? She over it yet?" Asked Gregor.

"Well about Zoey. . . She went missing yesterday, and since they could't interrupt Luxa, they haven't started a search yet." Said Alex.

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**Well that was very random and unexpected! Hope you guys like the story so far, because it is kind of floating away from my control, and I am struggling to keep it inside my liking, though I am managing. By the way, I need to tell you guys, before it gets to stuck in your head as is, that Xano, the X is pronounced as a I decided to take a suggestion you guys made. I will ask a question at the end of each chapter, and whoever get's it right gets mentioned in the next chapter! So as usual all feed back is encouraged and appreciated, see you later!**

**R&R Guys,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Question: How did Xano's dad die?**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- So, how did you guys like the chapter?**

**Gregor- It was awesome! I learned so many cool things from Xano, and I still need to read the scrolls the Luxa wrote while I was sleeping.**

**Luxa- I agree completely! He has done so many cool things, he was even in the overland a couple of times!**

**Gregor- He was?!**

**Luxa- You were asleep when he told those stories, you will read about them in the scrolls later.**

**Gregor- Ok! Never been so exited about reading!**

***All three of them laugh***

**Tytonic- Ok, keep at it guys, and make sure you find Zoey, it may be more important then you think! See you guys later!**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye!**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- I swear I burned a hole in my head staring at this screen for so long!**

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**Fly you all high,**

**-Tytonic**


	17. Chapter 17: Confession

** Hello people of fanfiction, and welcome back! So, before I say anything, stop. Go back and re-read chapter 16 right now, I didn't like certain parts of it, and the small changes I made will affect the entire story. So go read it. . . now. Your still here?! I said go read it! Ok, now your back, and have re-read chapter 16, onto current matters. So, for once I actually know how the entire chapter will go. I had an extra hour and a half after a test today in school, so in my 'random crap' notebook I wrote the outlines of this entire chapter, and it took up 5 entire pages. I can't help but feel that this chapter will be to short, but hey, the epic cliffhanger on the end makes up for it. So, as promised I will post the name of the person who got the question on last chapter. So, the lucky winner is: . That's, right, nobody! Xano's father was betrayed by a king, who wanted to use the flasher powers for evil, the problem is that Xano's father had the powers, and could not be controlled, so the king killed him and tried to raise Xano for evil! Problem is that Xano saw reason, and managed to resist the evil king. Some of you guys got the gist of this, though I wanted a little more detail, just a smidgen. So, as usual, all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so have a nice day!**

**Fly you all high,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 17: Confession**

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"Oh yeah, what's going on with Zoey? She over it yet?" Asked Gregor.

"Well about Zoey. . . She went missing yesterday, and since they couldn't interrupt Luxa, they haven't started a search yet." Said Alex.

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**-O-**

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"Wait what? Are you serious? I knew she was really upset, but to runaway? If we don't find her soon something else will, or already has!" Practically yelled Gregor.

"I know! I told the guards that, but they refuse to act on it without official orders from Luxa!" Yelled Alex back.

"Well let's finish up here, and fast, we need to hurry! Luxa will be at breakfast as soon as she gets washed up!" Said Gregor.

Gregor didn't need to wait for an answer, he just rushed as fast as he could and finished cleaning himself up. He could tell, using echolocation, that Alex was rushing as well. Both boys finished in record time, and jumped out of the baths.

Both Gregor and Alex tossed on their cloths, not taking a second to make sure that they looked good. Gregor was certain he might have put his shirt on backwards. Both of the boys ran down to the dinning room, knowing they had to hurry, they were already wasting precious seconds.

They got a lot of awkward looks form servants and anybody that happened to see them. Two overlanders running side by side down the hall, starting to sweat. When the arrived in the dinning room, they found that everybody, save Zoey was their, all except for Luxa.

"Were is Luxa?!" Chocked out Alex.

"What about me?" Asked Luxa as she walked into the room, as if on cue.

"Luxa! Zoey went missing yesterday, most people are saying she probably wants to be alone, but I know her better then that, she never wants to be alone, though she may seem like she does! I went looking for her, but I can't find her anywhere! The guards refused to search without your order." Said Alex, gaining back his breath.

"What?! I know she was unhappy, but why would she runaway? Maybe she didn't like the underland, just like Gregor attempted to escape his first night here. Guards begin an official search, I want all of Regalia searched, once that is clear we will expand the search farther." Responded Luxa, the worry clear in her eyes.

Gregor, Luxa, and Alex all knew what they were doing next. Without saying a word, they all walked out of the room, and over to highhall. Gregor and Luxa both whistled, and waited for their bats to arrive. When they landed Gregor, Luxa and Alex walked over to greet them.

"Hello Chronos." Said Gregor, getting a nod in response.

"Hello Aurora, can you please call a flier for Alex? He is in need of one." Asked Luxa.

If aurora had actually made a noise, she didn't show any sign of doing so, though sure enough, a medium sized flier flew in and landed. He had a black head, a gray body, and his tail was mostly white, though it had spots of gray on it.

"Greeting, overlander, I am he called Apollo. I am too be your flier for the time being." Said Apollo. He had a deep voice, though at the same time it felt soothing.

"Hello, it is nice to meet you Apollo, my name is Alex." Said Alex. It seemed that he liked this flier already.

All 3 kids mounted up onto their respective bats, and took flight, though nobody knew exactly were they were going.

"Umm, so were exactly are we going to look?" Asked Gregor to nobody in particular.

"I thought you knew." Responded Luxa.

"And I though you knew." Said Gregor.

"Uhhh, figures, so were should we look first? She couldn't have gotten to far on foot." Asked Gregor, rolling his eyes.

"Well I for one think we should check the outer walls first, see if we can find any sign of her anywhere." Said Alex.

"Yes, let's. If she wanted to leave without being seen, she would havehad to sneak out, and in order to that she would have had to gone through some break in the wall, or jumped off of the top. She would have broken her legs had she jumped, so I will assume there is some hole int eh wall that I am not aware of." Said Luxa.

"So, who exactly are we looking for right now?" Asked Chronos.

"We are looking for Zoey. I know you have seen her, thou you might not have met her. She is the overland girl, she went missing yesterday." Said Gregor.

"Yesterday?! If she got out of the city it will be a miracle to find her alive, let aloe to find her at all!" Explained Chronos.

When Alex heard this, he had changed his position a bit, and his muscles had tightened up. Gregor could see this with his echolocation, he didn't even need the torch that Luxa was holding to see it. They were close to Regalia anyway, so the light level was high enough to see most, though by overland standers, still very dim. Gregor had always know that Alex had liked Zoey as more then a friend, but he never really showed it, and when he did, it was usually a slip up, were he made it fairly obvious by mistake. This was not a slip up, and most people would not have noticed his stress. Apparently Apollo had sensed this as well, and tried to comfort Alex.

"Do not worry overlander, she will be fine, we will find her. She could not have gotten far." Said Apollo in his soothing voice. This appeared to calm Alex down a bit, but he was still visibly stressed.

The three kids continued to fly around the wall of the city, looking for any visible breaks.

"Luxa, it's clear that all the visible parts of the wall are in tact, we need to start looking in the darker areas, the areas we can't see normally." Said Gregor, after about the 4th round around the wall.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Ok, so find absolutely any area were you can't see the wall clearly, and make sure you search the area, we do not want to miss anything here, not even a crack in the wall." Said Luxa, getting a nod from both Gregor and Alex in response.

All three of the kids split up, all knowing they would cover more of the wall that way, and that they would be able to find Zoey faster. Gregor and Chronos began to search the wall, not needing to get next to it with a torch to see into the shadows, since they could both use echolocation. Gregor only needed to walk or fly past the wall in order to get a extremely sharp images of his entire surroundings, though he took his time anyway, knowing that if he didn't, he would only get on Luxa's bad side, and take it from personal experience, you don't want to be on her bad side.

Gregor walked along the wall slowly to make sure he didn't miss anything. He had to admit these walls were well kept, there was not a crack on them, and they were flat as can be. There was no way Zoey would have been able to get past this, well, unless she had a flier take her out, though it is highly unlikely that a flier would agree to do so, going outside the walls without official business was forbidden, and could be punished, and if you aren't careful, with your life.

Gregor made his way up and down his wall a few times, and he was 100% sure that hot even a nat could get past this wall. He was already sure of this his first time going down the wall, but by the 4th time every inch of the wall was pounded into his memory, every single scratch and nick on it. By the time Gregor had finished his 6th round, he decided to go look for the others. Gregor called out to Chronos, and ran up to the wall, jumping off of it, giving himself a great boost. The people in the underland were already good jumpers due to generations of jumping to the bats, and Luxa could jump a whopping 3-4 feet in the air, while Gregor could only get 1-2, it was just enough for a bat to catch him anyways.

"So, Chronos, did you find anything from the air?" Asked Gregor.

"Sadly, no. I could see some of the guards reaching the outer walls though, and seeing to the fact that they are still searching, I think it is safe to assume that they have not found Zoey yet. I believe that she is not in the city, and I think we are wasn't our time here." Responded Chronos.

"Yes I agree. The only reason I am still her at the wall, and not out in the caves looking for Zoey, is because Luxa would kill me if I didn't do this first." Said Gregor.

"Why would I kill you? Which of my many reasons are you referring to?" Said Luxa as she flew up on Aurora, and a few moments Apollo, along with Alex flew up to join them.

"So, did anybody fins anything? The only thing that I got was every single inch of the wall pounded into my head." Said Gregor.

"Unfortunately no, I didn't find anything. Luxa, assuming you found nothing, are their any other ways out of Regalia?" Asked Alex.

"I found nothing, and I can only think of one other way put at this time, and that would be the old nursery, but Zoey couldn't possibly have know about that, plus she would need a flier to escape their." Responded Luxa.

"Queen Luxa! We have just completed our search of the city, the overlander is nowhere to be seen, she is not in the city." Reported a guard as he flew up on a large gray bat.

"That is bad news, expand the search to outside of the city, and look at the most probable routs first. Remember, in order to go far, she would have needed light." Said Luxa.

"Yes, your majesty. We will proceed with the utmost haste." Said the guard as he rushed off to order other guards around.

"Gregor, can you think of any other ways out of Regalia? I know I am missing one, though I cannot remember what it is. I'm the queen for Sandwiches sake, I should know my own city!" Joked Luxa. It did little to lighten the mood.

"No, not off of the top of my head." Responded Gregor.

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

_Trying not to think of the bobbing boulders, he lit his oil lamp from a torch by the dock. On reflection, he took the torch as well. Where he was going, light would be as important as air. He blew out the oil lamp to save fuel._

_ He carefully climbed into one of the boats and checked it out. The torch slid into a older clearly designed for it_

_ "How do you get this thing down in the water?" he wondered. Two ropes held it aloft. They were attached to a metal wheel that was affixed to the dock. "Well, here goes nothing," Gregor said, and gave the wheel a yank. It gave a loud creak, and the boat fell straight into the river, knocking Gregor on his rear end._

_ The current swept up the boat like it was a dry leaf. Gregor grasped the sides and hung on as they shot into darkness. Hearing voices, he man-aged to look back at the dick for a moment. Two underlanders were screaming something after him. The river curved and they vanished from sight._

_ Would they come after him? Of course they would come after him. But he had a head start. How far was it to the waterway? What was the waterway, and once he got there, where did he go next?_

_ Gregor would have been more concerned about these questions if he wasn't trying so hard to stay alive. Along with the boulders, he had to dodge the jagged black rocks that jutted out of the water. He found an oar lying along the bottom of the boat and used it to deflect the canoe off the rocks._

_ The temperature of the underland had felt comfortably cool since he'd arrived, especially after the ninety-degree heat of his apartment. But the cold wind whipping up off the water made the goose bumps rise on his flesh._

_ "Gregor!" He thought he'd heard someone call his name._

_ Was it his imagination or-no! There it was again. The underlanders must be closing in on him._

_ "The river swerved and suddenly he could see a little better. A long cavern lined with crystals shimmered around him, reflecting back his torchlight._

_ Gregor made our a glittering beach flanking one side of the river up ahead. A tunnel led from the beach into the dark. On impulse, Gregor pushed off a rock and pointed the canoe toward the beach. He paddled desperately with the oar for the shore. Straying on the river was no use. The underlanders were breathing down his neck. Maybe he had time to pull up on the beach and hide in the tunnel. After they'd passed by, he could wait a few hours and try the river again._

_ The canoe slammed into the beach. Gregor caught himself just before his face hit the boat bottom._

* * *

**End flashback**

* * *

"Wait, Luxa." Said Gregor.

"What is it Gregor?" Responded Luxa.

"Do you remember the first time I was in the underland? How much I hated it?" Asked Gregor.

"Yes, you tried to escape but what importance does that hold now?" Asked Luxa.

"I tried to escape, and remember how I did that?" Asked Gregor.

"You used a boat at the docks! We never checked there!" Explained Luxa as she sped ahead.

Chronos seemed to take this as a race or something, because as soon as Aurora sped ahead, he went into overdrive and rocketed forward. It seemed that he was slightly faster then aurora, because within a few moments, he was slowly pulling ahead. It seemed that Apollo had no clue were they were going, so he stayed in the back, even though he could probably out fly both Aurora and Chronos combined. At the speed they were flying it took them all of 45 seconds to fly a 2 minute flight, and Gregor could see the confused faces of Regalians as he sped by. They probably though there was some sort of emergency, why else would 3 bats be rushing somewhere so fast?

When they arrived they found that there was only one guard on duty at the dock. The problem with this was that he was like a log, fast asleep on the ground. That didn't last long as he was awaken with a queens foot in his stomach.

"Uhhh" Moaned the man as he attempted to draw his sword.

"Do not draw your weapon on me. You were sleeping on guard, and because of this a girl escaped down the river. Go to your commander, tell him of this, if I hear you did not, then you will regret not telling him." Said Luxa angrily. As soon as the man saw her, he picked himself up off of the ground, and ran away, probably terrified of the angry queen.

"Well that's one way to make your guards terrified of you." Muttered Gregor.

"I know, isn't it great?" Asked Luxa excitingly.

"Oh you little devil." Joked Gregor as he tazed her (it's a poke on a weak spot on your side), and surprisingly, she giggled. It was not like Luxa to giggle.

"Luxa, did you just giggle?" Laughed Gregor, only laughing more when he saw her entire body flush red.

All three of the kids were laughing, but stopped immediately when they saw the spot were a boat should be, but was missing. All three of the kids mounted up onto their bats, and sped down keeping just above the river.

Gregor guessed that Zoey thought like him, because when they reached the beach, she had done the same thing he did, dragged the boat onto the shore. All of the kids dismounted and immediately began to look for signs that Zoey and been there. It didn't take very long, considering there were footprints everywhere, and some weird pattern which everybody already assumed to be slasher, but didn't want to believe it, so they tossed the idea out, but deep inside they all knew it was slasher. It seemed like there was a large fight, there were signs of a major struggle, and bits of blood here and there.

"Gregor? The foot prints look like somebody was running away, they lead this way." Said Luxa, worry evident on her voice.

"Let's follow it, I think we all know that this is Zoey, the blood doesn't look to old, but it is still old enough to be about right." Said Gregor.

Luxa and Alex nodded in response, and began to head down a tunnel. Problem was, that apparently Zoey and stopped the bleeding, because the blood trail ending, and they were going solely on footprints now. It was like this for another minute or so, until they came across a split in the tunnel, and the ground turned from sand to stone, thus leaving no footprints to follow.

"Apollo, I need you to fly back to Regalia. Get a rat that can track, and get some guards as well, her scent is bound to still be here. Once you do that come back with them, we will have further need of you." Said Luxa.

"I shall be back as soon as possible, I advise not going on, for you will get lost in the maze of caves. The last thing we need is 3 more lost people." Said Apollo as he flew off.

"Ok let's go, I vote go left." Said Luxa.

"Luxa, no. You know we can't go further, just sit down and lets find something to do." Said Gregor.

"Uhhh, I can't stand doing nothing helpful. Fine we will wait for more to arrive." Said Luxa and she slid down right next to Gregor.

"So. . . what do we do? We have at least another 10 minutes before Apollo comes back." Asked Luxa.

"Hmm, how about I try to teach you guys echolocation? I doubt you will get anywhere in 10 minutes, it took me hours and hours to learn just the basics of it." Said Gregor.

"Sounds decent to me. It would be very helpful not needing to use torches all of the time." Said Luxa.

"What else would we do? Click away master Gregor!" Joked Alex.

"So first thing is first, put out the torch, we need complete darkness for this." Said Gregor.

Luxa obeyed and put the torch out, but he could 'see' the expressions on their faces, they didn't like the idea of being without light.

"So, click with your tongue, easy enough, now click in every direction, and try to find out were I am. The click will sound different when you are facing me." Said Gregor from behind Luxa. How did he get there so silently?

This went on for about 8-9 minutes, and both Alex and Luxa never got a thing, to them it was all clicks, and nothing more. Then again, it took Gregor a very long time.

"Ok guys, good job, I will light the torch so the others can find us." Said Gregor, and soon after a burst of light came from were he was as the torch lit.

After about another minute or two, the others arrived. Their were 2 human guards, both with fliers, and a rat named Slashtail, who also had a flier. A rat couldn't run below the fliers when the only thing below them was a river. They all explained the situation to the guards and the rat, and were pleased to hear that the rat could clearly pick up the scent of Zoey, however they were not pleased to hear that he could also pick up a strong scent of Slasher. To add to that the rat said there were probably around 5-6 of them, and maybe more deeper in the tunnel.

Everybody started to follow the rats lead. Gregor had to admit that it was very boring. They had been walking for a full hour now, if they flew they wold risk loosing the scent trail. It was slow progress, very slow. This changed immediately when an earsplitting shriek, clearly female human, came from up ahead in the tunnel.

* * *

**Alex's Point of View**

* * *

Alex didn't even think. His brain had already registered that that was Zoey's shriek, and he broke out into a sprint. This was one of the rare occasions that he could actually run faster then Gregor. He ran for what seemed like forever, though in realty it was only for about 30 seconds.

When Alex arrived at the scene, he was horrified at what he saw. There were 7 Slasher's all in a circle around Zoey, all ready to spring in a kill her, ripping her to shreds.

The entire group jumped into action, though there were only 6 of them, and 7 Slashers. Alex ran straight for one, trying to get to Zoey. He had also mad himself a carbon shell sword (I made that name up for it, the special swords that can cut though the shell with ease), though his sword was not nearly as nice as Gregor's or Luxa's, he hadn't wanted jewels all over it, we just made it a basic sword with cool designs engraved on it.

He brought his sword up just in time to meet the tail coming down. The Slasher's own force resulted in the end of his tail bounding off into the shadows. The slasher got very enraged by this, and brought his fangs to the sword. His fangs clung onto the flat part, ripped the sword for Alex's hand, and threw it into the shadows. The amount of blood the slasher had lost was unbelievable, and before it could kill Alex, it fell to the ground, out cold, but not dead.

Alex didn't have time to watch as every other Slasher fell dead, he only concentrated on the one above Zoey, about to stab it's tail down into her, killing her. Alex could see that nobody could get to her in time, and not having his sword anymore, he did the one and only thing he could do.

Alex ran straight for the slasher, and he dived, flat-out dived forwards. The Slasher brought it's tail down, and the sound of flesh being cut into rung throughout the cave. The only thing was, it was not Zoey's flesh. Alex had dived in front of her just in time, and now had a hole through his thigh, and a large, deep gash on his back. He hole in his thigh hit an artery, thus putting him on a timer. He had 3-6 minutes before he bled to death, about a minute before he blacked out.

Alex hit the ground with a thud, and saw as the slashers head fell off, courtesy of Gregor.

Zoey rushed to Alex's side, and grabbed his hand. She already had a waterfall of tears coming out of her eyes.

"Z-Zoey. . . I-I n-need to t-tell you som. . . something." Wheezed out Alex, the sound of blood coming from his throat.

"Y-yes A-alex?" Sobbed out Zoey.

"B-before I d-die I-I w-wanted to t-tell y-you this." Chocked out Alex.

"I-I L-love y-you" Said Alex, the gurgling of blood easy to hear.

"I- I love y-you to Alex. P-please don't g-go. . Please." Whispered out Zoey.

"I-I'm I'm s-sorry" Wheezed Alex.

With that, Alex's eyes closed for what very well might be the last time.

* * *

**TALK ABOUT A CLIFFHANGER! So don't hate me for killing Alex. . . Just trust me, don't stop reading the story right now because of it, it will all make sense in due time, so just trust me. This chapter has been a pain to write, but I must admit the stuff I scribbled down into my notebook was definitely a big help. So I am writing this chapter tonight, and posting it Saturday morning, to see how many views I can get in one day, so far i have gotten 260 at the most, and I want over 300! As usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, see you all later!**

**See you all later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Question: How long has Zoey truly loved Alex, whether she knew it or not?**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- Thoughts details ideas?**

**Gregor- I will not talk to you.**

**Luxa- Me neither.**

**Tytonic- Oh so that's how it is? You guys are annoying sometimes.**

**Tytonic- Fine, give me the silent treatment. Just remember that Alex still has a chance, small, but still a chance. If you sit there and sulk over him you will waste the little time he has left. So I guess bye.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**See you guys all later, R&R,**

**-Tytonic**


	18. Chapter 18: Chatter

**Hello and welcome back to this story people! So, sorry for not updating in longer then usual, I just came to a complete blank, and normally I would have updated 1-2 days ago, so sorry. So here I am, once again spending hours at a computer, writing another chapter to my story. This will be chapter 18, if my memory serves me right. So, I know I really left you guys at a cliffhanger last chapter, and I assume most of you hated that, but no matter, it shall be resumed right were it left off. Alex finally told Zoey he loved her, though he was dying in the process, I already know what will happen, and most of you probably can guess, so read to find out. So, nobody guessed the question right, and I only got one answer anyway, though I thought it would be fairly obvious. Zoey realized that Alex had always been there for her, far more then Gregor, right when he sacrificed himself for her. Ever heard the saying 'You never know what you have till it's gone'? Well yeah, that could really apply to this situation. Lets hope that Alex doesn't die! So, as usual all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts. See you guys later!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods **

**Chapter 18: Chatter**

* * *

"I-I L-love y-you" Said Alex, the gurgling of blood easy to hear.

"I- I love y-you to Alex. P-please don't g-go. . Please." Whispered out Zoey.

"I-I'm I'm s-sorry" Wheezed Alex.

With that, Alex's eyes closed for what very well might be the last time.

* * *

**-O-**

* * *

So, here Gregor was, in a random cave, dead centipedes everywhere, a dying boy with a girl crying over him, and he was standing their collecting dirt. Luxa had ordered him to grab as much dirt as he possibly could, it was the only this they would jam inside Alex to stop the blood loss, since it would just seep through any fabric.

"Gregor! Hurry up with the dirt, Alex is loosing blood, and fast!" Yelled Luxa from her spot aside Alex. She was doing something to him, though whatever it was he was loosing to much blood for it to help that much.

Gregor, using his shirt as a bag, had gathered a lot of dirt inside of it. He ran back over to Luxa and Alex, and dumped the entire thing of dirt into his wound, upon Luxa's order.

"Luxa, wouldn't having dirt in your blood be bad for you?" Asked Gregor.

"Well, normally yes, but would you rather have dirt in your blood, or no blood at all?" Responded Luxa. Gregor didn't even need to respond the that.

Upon Luxa's signal, he helped Luxa load Alex up onto a bat. They put him on Apollo, and shoved Zoey on behind him to make sure he would be ok. It wasn't really a choice anyway, Zoey was going with him whether they wanted her to or not. They also gave her instructions on how to keep Alex from dying right there. This whole thing reminded Gregor of when he took Luxa back to Regalia from the firelands during the war of time. Luxa had breathed in to much ash, thus causing her extreme lung problems.

Gregor knew already that, if Alex got back to Regalia in time, he would be out for months until he could regain all of the blood he lost, unless he could get a blood transplant. It's not very likely that anybody wold offer their blood up to an overlander that has done nothing for them, so you could almost cross that off of the list. At this point everybody was loaded up onto a flier, even the gnawer, who and originally had a bat anyway, due to the need to go over the river.

All 13 of the beings were on route to Regalia, and were seriously rushing. Alex needed medical attention, and fast. The flight seemed to take hours, though in reality it was probably only 5-6 minutes, for the entire flight. Alex was loosing so much blood, he could die at any moment now, and he was visibly pale, almost as pale as an underlander, due to his lack of blood. When they all landed, Alex was whisked away on a stretcher before anybody could do a thing about it. Gregor and Luxa both needed to pin Zoey down to the ground to keep her from running after Alex, literally. It was amazing how strong a girl like Zoey could become when hyped up on adrenaline. Normally Gregor would have had no problem holding her down, but he actually needed Luxa's help for this.

It took a full hour to calm Zoey down enough for her to realize that if she charged in on the doctors, she would only be doing more harm then good.

"But, w-what if he isn't okay?" Asked Zoey in a shaky voice.

"He said he loved you right?" Asked Gregor.

"Y-Yes." Responded Zoey.

"Then he will have the desire to live. In these situations, the desire to live can make all the difference." Said Gregor. This seemed to be helping Zoey a bit.

"I'm going to go to my room now. Tell me when I am allowed to see Alex." Said Zoey.

Luxa raised her hand in a signal, and a nearby guard nodded. He would have Zoey informed when she would be allowed to see Alex. With that, Zoey left the room, and disappeared down the hallway.

"Did you have the desire to live Gregor?" Asked Luxa. She didn't even have to say what she meant, it was clear that she meant after Gregor got mortally wounded by the Bane.

"Well, I only had a few moments to think at all. I had thought that I might meet Ares on the other side, and the next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital bed. I wanted to see Ares, so I didn't exactly have the desire to live." Said Gregor.

"You still miss him, don't you?" Asked Luxa.

"Yes, and I always will, though I think Chronos had healed some of that pain, though it will never fully go away." Responded Gregor. He smiled as he got a smile as a response from Luxa.

"So. . . Now what? As far as I'm concerned I have nothing else to do today, except train." Asked Gregor.

"Well, for once I do not have anything scheduled for the day. I assume that we will get called to the council anytime now to discuss what just happened. I have seen how deadly these creatures are, so it would be wise to train." Said Luxa.

"Ok, I could use some more training. I may have kept my echolocation going in the overland, but it could still use so,e work. I also have that new thing with my ranger senses to worry about, I don't want to hurt somebody by mistake. If it happened agAin. I don't think I would be able to control it." Responded Gregor.

"I could help you with the echolocation if you want, you tried to teach Alex and I in the tunnel, but we did not get anywhere, so maybe you could teach it to me as well. From what I hear, it is helpful to no extent." Asked Luxa.

"I would love the help, and I could teach it to you. Don't expect any results though. It took me days worth of work to get." Said Gregor.

"Days worth of work?! It took you that long?" Asked Luxa.

"Yes, it did. You don't have that kind of time to learn it, but you could join me an Ripred during training to learn it. I think that because you are in the dark so often, your body doesn't rely on sight as much as mine, so it might be easier for you to learn then it was for me." Asked Gregor.

"Yes, that would be the only time I would be able to learn, since I don't exactly have much free time. I never really had much, and when I did I always spent it with Henry. After he. . . left, I either had no free time, or I would go flying with Aurora. When you were here I had more to do, so I didn't have any free time. So many kids would love to be a king or queen, but none of them realize how terrible of a job it is." Responded Luxa.

"Well let's get going before we have the council hunting us down." Said Gregor.

"Yes, I agree. I don't know exactly how much time we have, but it should be about two to three hours until supper." Asked Luxa.

"Got it, let's use that time as best as possible then. Ripred should be in the arena, so lets go get him, and then get to the tunnels." Said Gregor, as he stood up.

"Well I suppose that makes sense, let us go." Said Luxa as she stood up.

Both Gregor and Luxa whistled, and waited for their fliers to arrive. Luxa decided to take this time to talk about Chronos.

"Gregor, what do you think of Chronos? It seems to me that you two would do great bonded." Asked Luxa.

"I would love to bond with him, I just don't think I'm ready for that feeling of losing Ares hasn't exactly worn off yet. I would need more time to get used to being with other fliers." Responded Gregor.

"I understand. It's just that Chronos had wanted to meet you for a very long time, ever since he first heard the stories of you and Ares." Said Luxa.

"There are stories of me and Ares?" Asked Gregor, shocked.

"Yes, they are basically bedtime stories that parents tell their children. The mighty warrior and his fierce bond slay the scourge of the underland, thus saving all. I believe it is in a few story books as well." Said Luxa.

"Oh great, now people will be starting rumors about the smaller details." Said Gregor.

"What do you mean?" Asked Luxa.

"When the people don't know the background details, they tend to make then up, which in turn causes rumors to spread." Responded Gregor.

"What harm could that possibly cause?" Asked Luxa.

"They could have created rumors about us, making us look better or worse then we actually are, or they could have added drama to the mix, everybody enjoys a little drama. I just hope they didn't add any romantic drama, I don't need people thinking that I'm in a romantic relationship with the engaged queen." Said Gregor.

"Well that is kind of true, so that would be bad. They could put you on trial for that, and the punishment could range from dungeon time, to execution, depending on the extent of the relationship." Said Luxa.

"Well that's a comforting thing to know." said Gregor.

"The might warrior, savior of the underland, executed for engaging in romantic activities with the queen." Said Gregor sarcastically.

"I would have no say in that trial either, due to being so much as friends with you. The council would make the decision, and the current council would execute you without question. They love Hayden far to much, they would eliminate anything or anyone that gets in his way. Personally I think they want him as king so they can rule through him. I must warn you, they will do anything to keep you from getting in between Hayden and me." Said Luxa.

"Tell me about Hayden, I know almost nothing about him." Said Gregor.

"Well, he is very self centered, though it doesn't show. He only does something if it benefits him in some way. He wants to be king very badly, and he is doing a good job of getting to be. He is obsessed with me; he is always trying to flirt with me, or kiss me or something. He is smart, but blind to the world. No matter how much I deny him love, or how I treat him,me still seems to think that I love him dearly, and the council thinks this as well. He is a very determined person, and never gives up. When he fought Ripred, he had been trying far to hard. He was making desperate moves to keep himself in the fight, and he became very reckless. He seems to think that he has authority over me, that I have to do anything he wants me to do, though he never wins in those situations, since he has far less power then I do. He always is trying to spend time with me, or at least be around me. He thinks that I'm this weak little girl that needs protection all the time. I think you would get along with him for the most part, if it were not for his pride. He thinks that he is better then everyone, and I quote 'The warrior has nothing on me. He may have saved us, but in the end he is just another soldier, just another overlander.'. When he said that, I had slapped him across the face. The only reason he didn't respond was because Ripred needed him for something, and dragged him away. He would trash talk Ripred as well, but he knows that Ripred would not hesitate to rip his throat out. Ripred dislikes him just as much as I do." Said Luxa.

"Wow, I already don't like him. Were is he anyway? Why haven't I met him yet?" Asked Gregor.

"When we first discovered this new enemy, he was stabbed through the chest by a stinger, though the doctors say he should recover soon. He heals very fast, almost twice as fast as normal." Said Luxa.

"Oh great. I kind of want to meet him, but don't at the same time. I'll have to make sure he knows I'm not 'just another overlander'." Said Gregor.

Before Luxa could respond, the bats finally landed next to Gregor and Luxa.

"What took you guys so long?" Asked Gregor.

"Chronos was asleep, and he can be a pain to awaken. I had to drop a rock on him to get him up." Responded Aurora.

"And I said I was sorry. Can you blame me? I haven't had much sleep as of lately." Said Chronos.

"Well let's get going, we don't have to much time, we need to grab Ripred from the arena." Said Gregor.

Gregor got a few nods in response, and he and Luxa climbed onto their respective fliers, and they all took flight.

"So, whats going on between you and the queen?" Asked Chronos.

"Umm, nothing. Were just freinds, nothing more." Responded Gregor.

"Oh really? Lizzie told me otherwise, and it is fairly obvious from the outside. You may wanna try harder to conceal it." Said Chronos. Aurora let out one of the famous bat laughs, but didn't partake in any of the conversation.

"And you believed her why? Since when has she gained your trust?" Asked Gregor, ignoring the statement about hiding it better.

"I spent some time with your family yesterday, she seems to be much smarter then you, plus she is your sister, she knows most of your secrets." Responded Chronos.

"Oh great. Can I assume you know all my secrets now?" Asked Gregor.

"Everyone that Lizzie knew. The picture, Ares claw, and how you got temporarily kicked out of school. You don't have many secrets." Said Chronos.

"Well. . . Look, were at the arena, bring it up another time and we can vote on it!" Said Gregor as he jumped off of Chronos's back, a full 10 feet to the ground, quickly followed by Luxa.

"Well. . . that was uncomfortable. . ." Said Gregor.

"I see that your theory was correct. We need to take precautions to make sure nobody knows of us." Said Luxa.

"Yeah, I don't feel like being executed." Said Gregor.

"I hope nobody knows, it would only work against you. They would keep you alive until the war is over, so that you can help us win, then they would execute you." Said Luxa.

"Well that's good to know." Said Gregor, as he made his way over to Ripred.

Ripred looked ready to fight, though he was lazily leaning on the weapon cart. He seemed to be waiting for somebody to challenge him, somebody who could last more then a few seconds. Gregor decided that he would be that someone. He walked up to Ripred, and the rat slowly put his weight back on his feet.

"So boy, I see your ready to get slaughtered." Snorted Ripred.

"Me, slaughtered by you? I'm far to valuable to be killed in training." Responded Gregor.

"Yes, true, but that is why you fight back, make sure you ate alive to help fight. You are the only opponent that can truly challenge me, so I don't expect you to hold back. Draw your weapon boy." Said Ripred, giving no time before letting out his first attack, which was easily blocked by Gregor, who had gotten his weapon out just in time.

Every single person around them instantly gasped and backed away as fast as possible, seeing the sudden fight break out. Ripred rushed forward, and to mark the beginning of an extraordinary fight, steel met claw.

* * *

**So I had absolutely no clue how to end this, so I just did this, and I think it worked out pretty well, though I'm not sure about a lot of this. I think I'm just stalling, waiting for Alex to wake up so I can continue the Alex x Zoey fluff. I need ideas now, like big time, I have no clue what to do. . . I need Alex to wake up, which might not be for months, but on the bright side, Hayden is gonna wake up anytime now, and you know what that means! So as usual give me any and all ideas, review, favorite, follow and all that junk, see you all later!**

**Fly you high,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Question: How will Gregor and Hayden get along?**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- So how did you guys like it? I gave you a freaking movie, you better like it!**

**Gregor- Yes is was great, I missed some parts of the overland, but I still prefer the underland.**

**Luxa- The overland looks so amazing! I never knew that type of thing existed!**

**Tytonic- Well humans don't live anywhere near places like what you saw, though they do have amazing things still.**

**Luxa- I want to go see the overland so badly!**

**Gregor- Maybe after the war I can take you.**

**Luxa- Yes, if we survive, that is.**

**. . . . . . .**

**Tytonic- Well that killed the mood, see you guys next time.**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**R&R Peeps,**

**-Tytonic**


	19. Chapter 19: Number 4

**Hello people and welcome back to a story of epic proportion! Well, for the most part that is. So, I'm not entirely sure If I like the movie thing I did in the last chapter, and I might rewrite that later (only changing what they do in the chapter, not anything important in the story). If I do that I will tell you all so you can go back and read it again to see what I did. So, peoples, I have no school tomorrow, due to the amount of snow I just got (its insane, I got like 1 and a half feet, and we are suppose to get another 8 inches tonight!) so I might post another chapter tomorrow! I usually post a chapter every 2 days (skip a day in between each chapter), so this might be a good change of pace, plus you guys probably hate waiting in between chapters due to some of the cliffhangers I leave (I would be lying if I said I don't like leaving cliffhangers. It such a good feeling making a great ending to a chapter, and then some of your reactions are funny). Unlike most of the time, I know (for the most part) what is going to happen in this chapter, though it's only an outline, no details established as of now, they get added as I am writing the chapter. All I can say right now is prepare, the first large scale battle is going to take place anytime now, most likely this chapter. As usual, all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts on the chapter! Fly you high!**

**See y'all later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own any of ****The Underland Chronicles****, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 19: Number 4**

* * *

"Yes, true, but that is why you fight back, make sure you are alive to help fight. You are the only opponent that can truly challenge me, so I don't expect you to hold back. Draw your weapon boy." Said Ripred, giving no time before letting out his first attack, which was easily blocked by Gregor, who had gotten his weapon out just in time.

Every single person around them instantly gasped and backed away as fast as possible, seeing the sudden fight break out. Ripred rushed forward, and to mark the beginning of a extraordinary fight, and steel met claw.

* * *

**-O-**

* * *

Gregor and Ripred both had their weapons locked together, and were staring each other in the eyes, as if daring the other to make a move. Neither of them moved, just stood there and continuously started into each others eyes, neither of them aware that the entirety of the arena had their eyes trained on them.

"You gonna make a move boy, or are you scared?" Taunted Ripred. Of coarse, it's just like Ripred to try to piss the opponent off, causing them to screw up in anger.

"It's just like you to taunt the foe, Ripred. The real question is, can you keep up?" Asked Gregor.

This remark earned a loud "oooo" from the crowd, or would have had Gregor given them time to, before he launched his next move.

Gregor quickly backed up a few steps so he wasn't right in Ripred's face, and quickly spun around, bringing the sword down onto Ripred's left side. It failed to meet it's target, and met nothing but air. Crap. Ripred hadn't dodged to the side or stepped back, he was nowhere to be seen. Then Gregor noticed the shadow. Ripred had jumped over the strike, but he had jumped a square 15 feet up, and was about to come back down directly on top of Gregor. Gregor didn't have time to dodge, if he dodged he would only be exposed to attack, if he even made it away in time. Gregor did the only thing he was able to do, he stuck his sword straight up in the air, so that Ripred would come down right on top of it.

If this was any ordinary rat, it would have been killed instantly, making a rat shish kabob. The thing was, Ripred was not an ordinary rat. Ripred instantly saw what Gregor was doing, and knowing he couldn't control were he went in the air, he positioned himself so that when he came down, he would be able to hit Gregor's sword out of the way. Sure enough Ripred's plan worked wonders, and he completely avoided the attack, though it left both him and Gregor exposed. At this moment either of them could have hit each other winning the fight that moment, but the position they were both in broke the situation down to who was faster, the fastest would land a hit. Both deadly beings being rager's, and both being almost matched in skill, steel met claw as they struck at the same time.

Both Rirped and Gregor jumped away, knowing they were exposed to an attack for a split second. This left them about 8 feet away from each other. They spun to face each other, and locked eyes.

At this point in time, though it had only been around 10 seconds since the fight had began, the spectators began to break away, and each grab a new weapon from racks being wheeled out. Every person had a new weapon, and each weapon had a dark gray, almost black color to it. It seemed they were starting to equip the soldiers with weapons that would be effective against the slashers.

Gregor and Ripred both rushed forward at each other, eyes still locked, and attacked. Apparently Rirped knew he wouldn't be able to beat Gregor with his skill alone, that he would have to use more strategy in order to beat him. Ripred had bluffed, he was about to make contact with Gregor's sword when he pulled his claws down, and just as fast, slashed upward with them in a move that would leave claw marks going straight up Gregor's chest.

Gregor saw straight through Ripred's little trick. Truthfully, he had expected Rirped to do that. Gregor had intentionally angled his sword so that when Ripred slashed up, his sword would block the claws entirely if he brought it down to meet the claws.

Gregor did just that, and was satisfied to see that Rirped was pissed off that his trick had utterly failed. Gregor backed up about a foot, and thrusted his sword forward, only to have it caught in Ripred's claws. That was new, apparently Ripred had figured out how to lock a blade in his claws, while not actually grabbing it with his paws. Gregor attempted to pull his sword back, but realized that it was a hopeless attempt. Gregor, knowing he couldn't use his sword, used the handle as something to pivot on, and he planted a hard kick right in Ripred's stomach. With a grunt Ripred let go of the sword and stumbled back a few steps, struggling to keep his balance.

As soon as Rirped regained his balance, he used his tail to attack Gregor. His tail had a large bandage wrapped around the end of it, presumably because of the missing part of his tail. Ripred swung it as fast as he could at Gregor, thinking that he wouldn't have time to react. Wrong. Gregor easily got his sword up in time to block it. Gregor knew he was at a huge disadvantage as long as Ripred had two sets of claws and a tail. Gregor had purposely used the face of his blade to block the attack, knowing that if he used the edge it would only lop off another chunk of Ripred's tail. Gregor grabbed Ripred's tail with his left hand, and blocked another claw strike with his sword, in his right hand. Gregor used this opportunity, where Ripred had no available methods of attack, to jump back a few feet, and whip his dagger out of it's sheath, which was hidden under his shirt.

Ripred looked even more pissed then he had been before. Gregor spun around until he was standing there, out of range of Ripred, with a sword in one hand, and a dagger in the other, ready to face an army. Ripred rushed forward, and, in a desperate attempt to take Gregor out, broke into a rager spin. Gregor had almost no way to counter this, he could only run away, keeping himself out of range of Ripred.

This went on for about a minute, Ripred spinning, and Gregor running from the attack. Gregor knew that Ripred would keep spinning until he was spent, which, at this rate, wouldn't be for a long time. He did the only thing he could do to stop Ripred's spin. He threw his dagger straight at Ripred. As Gregor intended, Ripred's claws hit the dagger, though they only hit part of it, near the handle. This sent the dagger spinning out of control, and thus landing itself right in Ripred's left shoulder. It went in fairly deep, a few inches to be exact, and it instantly stopped Ripred's spin.

This had surprised Rirped substantially, and caused him to let down hit guard for a half a second. That half a second was enough for Gregor, and in an instant, he was in front of Ripred, with his sword pointed at Ripred's throat. Gregor then lowered his sword, and reached forward, yanking his dagger out of Ripred's shoulder.

"Well, that was interesting, how you fought off my attacks." Said Ripred, clutching his shoulder, which was heavily bleeding.

"Yeah, I guess. See you later." Said Gregor as he began to walk away.

Gregor began to make his way over to the bench where Luxa had been spectating the spar from. She seemed to be messing around with her new sword. Gregor sat down next to her.

"Hey Luxa, what you doing there?" Asked Gregor. Luxa looked up to him, offered him a smile, then looked back to her sword and continued messing with it.

"Hello Gregor. I am trying to think of new attacks to use with this sword. Each style of weapon has it's own special attacks. I kind of envy how you and Rirped both have your own special attacks. Your rager spins. I am trying to think of my own specialized attack." Responded Luxa.

"Well that explains why you keep messing with random bits of your sword. I could help you figure something out if you like." Offered Gregor.

"Really? You would help me with that?" Asked Luxa, seeming surprised that Gregor would offer this to her.

"Yes, of course, why would you think that I wouldn't help you?" Asked Gregor.

"Well. . . you know, with you being the warrior and all, you should be busy training. You will need to be at your very best when we next encounter the slashers." Responded Luxa.

"True, but the only thing tat can challenge me know is Ripred, and he is heading to the hospital right now. Plus it is just as important that you are ready to fight too." Said Gregor.

"Well I thank you for offering to help me, but why is Ripred going to the hospital?" Asked Luxa, shocked.

"Well. . . I kind of. . . kind of stabbed him in the shoulder." Said Gregor, pulling out his dagger, which was covered in blood.

"Wait. . . Why did you stab Ripred?! You know that your not suppose to hurt the opponent in a spar!" Said Luxa, shocked that Gregor would break that rule.

"Well I didn't mean to. He broke out into a spin, and I couldn't get close to him because of his tail. Because of this I kind of threw my dagger at him, and it hit him in the shoulder. Now can we get to working on you fighting? We don't have all day here." Asked Gregor.

"Yes, of course. Now, were do we start?" Asked Luxa.

"Well, in order to improve, you need to know your weapon. No matter how well you know it, the only way to truly know it is through battle. I suggest you start by sparing with some people. Try to choose people that won't hold back just because your queen." Said Gregor.

"Ok, so who do you think I should challenge?" Asked Luxa.

"I don't know, it's not like I really know any of these guys. Your best bet would be to just challenge random people." Said Gregor.

"Ok then, that is what I shall do then." Said Luxa before walking away to challenge random people.

* * *

**Luxa's Point of View**

* * *

Luxa spared Gregor one more glance, accompanied by a smile, and headed off to her first opponent. She choose a man that was slightly bigger then her, and seemed to be a decent soldier.

Luxa challenged the man, and she noted his shocked expression. He seemed to hesitate before accepting her challenge. The two began to circle each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

Luxa could see how tense the man was; he was hesitant to spar against the queen. Because of this, Luxa decided to make the first move. Luxa moved forward slightly, and she could notice the man tense up even farther, but she could see that his defense was slightly lowered.

"He thinks that just because I am queen, that I won't be as much of a challenge. He thinks that he might hurt me, so he is hesitating to fight." Thought Luxa.

Realizing this, Luxa decided to take advantage of it, though she was offended by this. Just because she was queen did not mean that she could not fight, in fact, she was better then the average soldier.

Luxa, realizing that he would never attack, rushed forward and swung her blade at him. She swung down, and he swung up to block, though she pulled back at the last second and spun to her right. She brought the sword around, and stopped it an inch or two away from his neck. Far to easy of a spar.

Without a word, the man walked away, his muscles visibly relaxing. He didn't seem to care that he lost so fast, only that he didn't hurt the queen. Luxa made her way over to her next opponent, who she really hoped wouldn't hold back. He was taller then most people, and he was kind of thin, though he used a very long sword, probably around the height of Luxa's shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir. I would like to challenge you to a spar." Said Luxa, as she approached him.

"Oh, of course I will accept your challenge. . .Oh! Queen Luxa!" Said the man, who seemed pretty surprised that it was the queen challenging him.

"Yes, it is I. Just don't hold back because I am the queen, okay?" Said Luxa, as both of them slid into a ready stance.

"I would not dream of it." Said the man as they both began to circle each other.

Both Luxa and the man continued circling, waiting for the other to attack. Just once Luxa though that the man would never attack her, he rushed forward and did a diagonal strike, coming from the upper right.

Luxa got her sword up with little time to spare, blocking the attack. She quickly slid to the right, and dived forward, rolling to her feet again. She was now positioned behind him, and she quickly stabbed backwards. Her attack was swiped off to the side, and the man tried to stab forwards, catching her in the back, but Luxa rolled to her left and jumped up onto her feet. Luxa swung her sword up, but it hit nothing but air as the man jumped back. Luxa jumped forward and grabbed the hilt of the mans sword as he stabbed forward. She quickly twisted his arm, forcing him to drop the sword. She spun around behind him, and attempted to strike him across the back. He sword was met with a dagger that was in his left hand held behind his back.

The man rolled forward, picking up his sword mid-roll. He spun to face Luxa. He quickly slid the dagger back into a sheath on his belt, and he pulled 3 things out of 3 smaller sheaths on his right side. The man was now holding 3 small throwing knives in this left hand, though they had covers on the blades so that they wouldn't kill what they hit.

Luxa had only ever seen this weapon used one other time, and that was when it was first invented, and presented at a council meeting. The council had agreed on using it, but nothing was ever really done with it after that.

The man swung his arm, and released one of the knives from his fist. It came straight at Luxa's stomach, and she hardly managed to block it with her sword in time. The man swung his arm again, this time letting the final two blade fly.

Luxa could only block one with her sword, and she did just that. The first blade fell to the ground; it had headed for her stomach, while the second headed for her face. Luxa held up her hand, by instinct, to block it from hitting her face, but was surprised when the handle of the blade landed firmly between her middle and pointer fingers.

Luxa was shocked by this; she had unintentionally caught a throwing knife. The man looked equally as shocked, and Luxa took advantage of that shock to throw the knife at him. She had never thrown a throwing knife before (she had thrown regular knives, but they are not designed for throwing like this knife), but she was pleased that it was on target, and that it wasn't a terrible throw. It didn't fly as fast as the mans had, but it still flew straight. The man got his sword up and blocked it easily, and just as fast rushed forward to swing at Luxa.

He swung from the left side going to the right, and Luxa got her sword up in time to block the strike. The man quickly pulled away, spinning around into the same attack, just from the right instead. Luxa ducked underneath this, and tried to stab at his chest. The man jumped back a step and avoided the attack. Luxa wasted no time in jumping forward and swinging low at his feet. The man jumped over the strike and swung diagonal for the top left down at Luxa. Luxa countered it, locking their swords together.

Luxa attempted to kick the man in the gut, but he spun away to the side, and tried to stab at her. She sidestepped the strike, to the left, and jumped forward, grabbing the hint of the mans sword. He must have expected her to make the same move twice, because he yanked his dagger out, and held it behind his back. Luxa didn't twist his wrist this time. She yanked forward, pulling him in. She held her sword up, so that when he came in it would be held to his neck.

The man didn't allow this, he ducked down, or at least tried, and went under the blade. He crashed to the ground, taking Luxa with him. Luxa dropped her sword at this point in time. Luxa rolled away as fast as possible and sprung up to her feet. The man was a second slower, but regained his stance nonetheless. He wasted no time in rushing forward at Luxa, who was still looking for her sword. He had an overconfident grin on his face, and who could blame him? He was facing a defenseless opponent. Just as Luxa found her sword, it was kicked away by the man, and he swung downward at her.

Any normal person would be defeated right here, if they hadn't already given up, but Luxa was no about to give up. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to get her sword, she improvised. Just as the blade came down, Luxa sprung to the left, and delivered a quick kick into the mans right armpit. His entire right arm fell limp, and the sword remained in his left arm.

The man seemed extremely shocked by this. Luxa slid behind him and kicked him in the back of the knee. As he fell to his knees, she grabbed his left wrist and twisted it, forcing him to drop the sword. Luxa yanked his functional arm, his left arm, behind his back, and started to pull upward. The man winced in pain, and Luxa yanked his dagger out of it's sheath. She brought it up to his neck and held it there for a few seconds.

Luxa let go of the man and dropped his dagger on the ground. She waited for the man to stand. Once he stood, he was a bit unbalanced, but managed to stay up. His right arm hung limp at his side.

"Wow. I must say I did not expect you to have that in you. Congratulations." Said the man.

"Yes, thank you, but no need to congratulate me, it was only a spar." Responded Luxa.

"You really do not know do you?" Asked the man.

"What?" Asked Luxa.

"You have beaten me in combat, and have claimed the title of fourth best in Regalia." Said the man

"Wait. . . I have?! I did not expect that. As queen I was forbidden to enter the contest that determined the ranks." Said Luxa, shocked.

"Indeed you have. I would have never guessed that the queen could have beaten me in combat, you truly are a great warrior." Said the man.

"Thank you. I never followed the ranking, so I only know a few. Gregor is number one, Ripred is number two, and Hayden is number three." Said Luxa, as she walked over and picked up her sword, then back to Gregor.

She noticed that quite a few people had witnessed the fight, and that many had clapped for her victory. Many were also watching her walk back over to Gregor, as if they expected her to challenge him.

"Congrats, I didn't know you have that in you. Looks like you know the human weak spots, were did you learn that?" Asked Gregor.

"A book from the museum. I spent a lot of my free time in there over the past four years." Responded Luxa.

"Well you gotta show me that stuff later, I wanna learn it." Declared Gregor.

"Yes, once we have free time I shall show you. Now, what is nex-" Said Luxa, being cut off by a flier crashing down on the ground in between the two.

The bat had 2 large gashed running down it's stomach, and it was bleeding heavily. It was clear a slasher had done this.

"S-slasher. . . h-hundreds m-marching. . . o-on. . . R-regalia. . ." Wheezed out the flier. With one final gasp for air, the flier stopped moving, and thus it's light had been lost.

* * *

**Well that's a cliff hanger, again. So, the question from last chapter was going to be finished here, but since Hayden didn't come in in this chapter, I will have to wait for next chapter, where he will defiantly come in (if I remember (I should)). As usual, all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts on the chapter! See you guys later!**

**See you guys another day,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Question: How will Gregor and Hayden get along? (I couldn't find a way to introduce Hayden in this chapter, so sorry that it's the same question.)**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- So thoughts?**

**Gregor- The armor is amazing! I feel ready to fly into this next battle!**

**Luxa- I feel ready as well, though I fear it will not be enough. The flier said hundreds, and we struggled with around 20.**

**Gregor- Don't worry Luxa, we will be able to fend them off.**

**Luxa- It's not that. I know we can fight them off, it's the cost of fighting them off that is my worry.**

**Tytonic- Well you guys don't have much time to get ready for the battle, so ill be sending you off, bye.**

**Gregor and Luxa- Bye.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**R&R peeps,**

**-Tytonic**


	20. Chapter 20: He's back

** So hey guys hows it going? Before I say anything else, GO READ CHAPTER 19. I know you all already read it, but I have redone the entire chapter yesterday, so it's now basically a new chapter. Go read it. Now. Done? I don't believe you. Do it now. Now you done? Ok that's better, lets get started. So before I say anything, this chapter is not chapter 20 redone. I have entirely deleted chapter 20, and this picks up were 19 left off. It will not have anything that 20 had, only the beginning of the battle, or if I make it a long chapter, the end of the battle as well, which is fairly likely. So, I am pretty sure that Hayden will be introduced in this chapter, so that's good. I have been trying to think of ideas for this part of the story, but instead I now have the entire final couple chapters planned out, so that will help when the time comes. So, I guess I will see you guys after the chapter!**

**See you later tots,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

* * *

**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 20: He's back**

* * *

The bat had 2 large gashed running down it's stomach, and it was bleeding heavily. It was clear a slasher had done this.

"S-slasher. . . h-hundreds m-marching. . . o-on. . . R-regalia. . ." Wheezed out the flier. With one final gasp for air, the flier stopped moving, and thus it's light had been lost.

* * *

**-O-**

* * *

Gregor's eyes widened the second he heard this. He knew exactly what this meant. More then likely he would not only be forced to fight, not that he would have to be forced, but that he would be stuck right in the front lines due to his abilities. Ripred would most likely be positioned near him, and maybe Xano would be tossed in somewhere. Gregor snapped back to reality when the arena burst into frantic activity.

"Gregor! Come, we are to report to the war room!" Shouted Luxa, already up on Aurora. Gregor hadn't even seen her jump up.

Gregor gave it no second though as he whistled and jumped, and was caught by Chronos. He decided to see if Chronos knew nay thing about what was going on.

"Hey Chronos, you know exactly whats going on here?" Asked Gregor.

"I know no more then you do, only that the slashers are marching on Regalia. The scouts wont be able to report much more either. In fact, the scout is laying dead in the arena as we speak; we will only be able to find out were they are coming from, unless we send out more scouts." Responded Chronos.

Gregor did not respond. The continued their flight to the palace. After what seemed like hours, but was, in reality, only a few minutes, they landed in highhall. Gregor immediately jumped off of Chronos's back, and jogged down the hall that he could hear Luxa going down. It took him but a few moment to catch up to her.

"Hey Luxa, what exactly is gonna happen here?" Asked Gregor.

"Well, You already know that there is going to be a battle. We know not of how these creatures fight, so we cannot rely on our normal battle strategies." Responded Luxa.

Gregor did not need to ask again, he could tell that Luxa knew no more then he did; after all, she was right next to him when they found out of this upcoming battle. Gregor was so deeply lost in thought that by the time they arrived at the war room, he almost kept walking right past it.

Both Gregor and Luxa entered the Room, but instead of seeing people sitting down for a meeting, they only saw a few men in the room gathering up scrolls, probably from a previous meeting. Gregor could visibly see that this did not make Luxa very happy.

"What are you doing?! Regalia is about to become under attack from hundreds of slashers! Go get the rest of the military leaders! We have no time to waste!" Shouted Luxa.

It was either the weight of the situation, or the harshness in Luxa's words that got the men moving. Probably both, but either way, all of their eyes widened and they sprinted out of the room shouting stuff around. Gregor and Luxa were now alone in the room. Luxa looked like she as about to buckle under all of the stress.

"Gregor. . . what do you think will happen? To Regalia, to the underland? This is all to much for me. . . far to much stress, I can't handle it all." Asked Luxa. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, a mental breakdown.

"Don't worry Luxa. Everything will be fine. We will win this war, we will stop the slashers. You don't have to handle all of this by yourself. I'm here to help. Ripred, Mareth, Vikus, Howard, and everybody else are here to help, don't take everything on by yourself. We will all help you, I'll help you." Gregor whispered into Luxa's ear as he pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Thank you. . ." Luxa whispered as she leaned into Gregor's embrace.

Luxa and Gregor staying in that position for a short amount of time, with Luxa resting her head on Gregor's shoulder. It was not long before both of their gazes met, and they looked into each other's eyes. They both stared, attempting to read each others eyes, but neither of them noticed as they slowly eased inward. It was only once their lips met that they closed their eyes, breaking eye contact. This was not a passionate kiss, no, this was a comforting kiss. It was intended to help Luxa feel better, and Gregor knew it was having it's desired effect as she visibly relaxed, and seemed to melt away into his embrace.

Gregor's eyes snapped open in an instant, and he pulled away from Luxa, and he eased more into his seat next to her. Her eyes looked hurt, but instantly changed when she realized why. They both watched as Ripred dragged his mangy hide into the room.

"No need to hide it pups. I could smell the love radiating from this room a mile away. Only a little shy of a mile where my echolocation picked it up. Good to see you noticed me, boy; you might have even been practicing." Said Ripred, using lower than usual levels of sarcasm.

"I never really did much while I was in the overland. I would go to school, go home, do whatever work they assigned me, and I would lay in bed for the rest of the day, blinds closed, and lights out, so it was dark. Not much else to do, save practice." Responded Gregor.

"That is all you did? What about at your school, what did you do there?" Asked Luxa.

"I never really did much at school either. I kept my grades high enough to pass school, and I ignored most other people." Responded Gregor. He knew he was leaving a few events out.

"Now now boy, don't forget why you got suspended. . ." said Rirped.

"How did you? Never mind, I don't wanna know. Yes I got suspended for 2 weeks." Said Gregor.

"You got suspended?! Why?" Asked Luxa, shocked.

"I kind of got into a fight. . . with five guys against me." Explained Gregor.

"Why did you get into a fight?" Asked Luxa.

"Alex was criticizing me when I rejected Zoey. . . She is one of the most popular girls in the school, and almost every boy drools over her. Only a few, like me, didn't. When he was criticizing me, I kind of snapped and yelled at him, saying I left somebody back in NewYork. I took out the picture of us when the school bully snatched it from my hands. He started calling you a freak, and making fun of you in every way possible. Silver hair, pale skin, and purple eyes aren't exactly normal in the overland. When he wouldn't give it back, I threatened him. He just laughed at me, he had 4 of his friends for backup, even if I could beat him in a fight. He was way to overconfident. I swear, Boots could fight better then him. It took only a few seconds before I had all five of them out cold on the ground. I didn't want to deal with it all, so I ditched school and went home." Responded Gregor.

Ripred snorted, and chuckled under his breath. Luxa started at Gregor like he was crazy. She had just begun to respond when Gregor held up a hand to silence her. Mareth and Perdita walked into the room. A few moments later more people began to arrive. There were some Gregor recognized from training, but very few, maybe only 3-4. Xano scuttled in last, and got many threatening and warning glares. He went to the side, since he could not actually sit in a seat. The meeting began.

"So, as we all know at this point, the slashers have launched an invasion on Regalia. We have little information as of now, but I have been informed of their current status. They seem to be about an hour out, and they have numbers around 500-600. In our current state all of Regalia will be destroyed, and even the palace will be taken." Mareth said while standing. He sat down once he finished.

Ripred stood and said "I believe you are correct, Mareth. You will need support from the gnawers. I highly suggest sending a message asking for two thirds of their forces, tell them that I approve of this."

Many of the members at the table murmured in agreement, and Luxa nodded to the nearest guard. The guard quickly left the room in a rush to get the message out. Three men had just finished laying out the map of the underland. It was a different map then what Gregor remember. This map had Regalia in the center of it, and it showed all of the surrounding land for about a mile or two in every direction. They began to put out markers to represent the slashers, and they put the ally markers to the side, so they could decide how to position everything.

"Ok, so as you can all see, this is how the slashers will be approaching us. It seems that they are planning a head on strike. We will need heavy defense on the west wall to repel as much of the attack as possible. We need ideas for these defenses. Most of our normal defenses will not work against this enemy. Before we begin to brainstorm, I suggest that we hear more about the way slashers fight. Xano, would you please?" Said Mareth.

Part of the group parted a little, allowing Xano to come through to the table. If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand times over at this instant. He didn't seem to mind very much.

"Yes, thank you Mareth. As most of you could have assumed, the slashers will not wait for the signal to being battle. When they arrive, they will attack as soon as possible. They have very strong legs, and can walk upside down on the room if they must, so they will use that to get straight through our defenses. We will need some way to stop them from going along the walls or roof of the cavern. They are not organized as well as we are, they will not have distinct battle lines or positions. They are similar to the cutters, care not of how many they lose, and I can guarantee that if we win this battle, they will send many, many more soon after. In this battle, they just about match our numbers, without the gnawers, who will arrive after the battle has begun. As we all know, one normal soldier is almost always going to loose to a signal slasher. We have Gregor here, Ripred, and myself, who are all ragers of sorts. We will be able to take fight through many at a time." Said Xano, he then proceeded to back away once more.

"Thank you, Xano. I agree that you, Rirped, and Gregor are extremely valuable in this fight. I would suggest putting you three on the front line. Gregor in the right front, Ripred in the center front, and Xano in the left front. Does anybody oppose this idea?" Asked Mareth.

There were a few murmurs, but nobody opposed the idea. Seeing this, Mareth moved three small custom pieces onto the map in the formation they discussed. Apparently these three warriors had special markers.

"Very well then. This will give us a strong defense at the front, and will help repel a large amount of the attack. Any slashers that get through will be taken care of by the soldiers directly behind these three. Next, I recommend using out top ten to fill in the points between these three. This would be excluding Hayden, and Luxa, our numbers three and four, for obvious reasons. We can fill any gaps in the first line with the soldiers approaching the top ten list. Does anybody oppose this idea?" Asked Mareth.

When nobody spoke out, Mareth slid some regular pieces in to complete the front line.

"Does anybody have any suggestions on how many lines of defense we should place after this? We only have up to 6 more lines available." Asked Mareth.

"I have an idea. We should put 3 lines behind the first line, then we should have 2 more lines farther back, but they should be armed with bows and arrows. In the overland, thousands of years ago, they had hundreds of archers line up and all shoot to the same area at the same time. It was next to impossible to survive this without a way of blocking many arrows at a time. Normally the shells would serve this purpose, but if we use the new metal, we may be able to take out a substantial number of the slashers before they even hit the first line. The final line should be kept back as backup, or as a special weapon crew. I remember during the war of time we dropped explosive boxes down onto the gnawers. We could do the same here." Recommended Gregor.

"I believe that the boy is good with the explosive boxes, but we would not be able to do the archers. We do have bows, but not near enough for that, and we have very limited amounts of these new arrows, most of the metal has been going to melee weapons." Said Ripred.

"Well, then do we agree that using these boxes is a good idea?" Asked Mareth.

"It would be a great idea. The slashers hate fire, it may not hurt them to much, but they do fear it greatly. They will overcome that fear in battle, but they will hesitate before making any more moves. Most of them will avoid the fire at almost any cost. They only cross it if they need to. This also means that we could oil the cavern, and light it on fire. The heat rising will prevent most of the slashers from going across the roof and walls. If any do, which a few will, we can have, say ten archers ready, to shoot them off of the roof. I highly recommend that you do not use fliers, or limit the usage of them. They will be able to swipe a flier straight out of the air with ease." Said Xano.

"It is true. When we were flying in the uncharted lands, they ambushed us. Multiple fliers were taken out of the air within seconds, and we had to have been at least 50 feet off of the ground at the time. We should only use the fliers for things such as dropping the crates, or emergencies." Said Rirped.

"Well then we shall limit use of fliers. Does anybody have any more ideas as to what we should do?" Asked Mareth.

When nobody answered, Mareth nodded and began to talk once again.

"Then this meeting is dismissed, if any of you wish to stay and discuss plans further then you are welcome to. I will be in here right up until the battle, have a nice day." Said Mareth as he sat back down.

Around half of the people in the room left. Xano choose to stay, Gregor and Luxa both left, and Ripred followed them out. Gregor quickly turned right as he was being dragged somewhere by Luxa. He barely heard Ripred yelling at them to meet him at the wall in half an hour. Gregor let Luxa lead him somewhere for a minute or so before they came across a room Gregor knew fairly well: The museum. Gregor sat down with Luxa at the far end, where they sat before the war of time.

Gregor felt Luxa lean into his side slightly, and He wrapped his arms around her, and she wrapped her arms around him. The needn't exchange any words, instead they just sat there, in each other's embraces.

Their faces slowly inched closer, until their lips met, and they picked up right were they left off when Ripred had interrupted them. This time there was more passion in the kiss then previously, were it had been comforting Luxa.

There was a strong sense of deja vu to this. Them both being in the museum, showing their feelings for each other, when they may very well both be dead within the next hour.

How times flys, it felt like mere seconds to Gregor, when in reality it had been about 20 minutes. They had to get some armor and get to the wall to see Ripred. Gregor and Luxa bit each other fair well, knowing they may very well never see each other again.

Gregor walked for a minute or two before he entered the armory. He was instantly bombarded with people measuring him. Before he could respond he was dragged over to Miravet.

"Ahh there you are Gregor. I have been waiting, we have refitted your armor. We made it slightly thinner, more room for muscle you have acquired. It has been stretched slightly to fit your height, and it has been refitted with new metals in places. I hope it is to your liking." Said Miravet, before people started to forcefully strap the armor onto Gregor. It fitted nicely, and it was fairly light, so it would not be to much of a bother.

"Yes, it fits nicely, now I really have to get going, I have to meet Ripred on the wall in like, a few minutes." Said Gregor as he began to walk away.

"Yes, I understand. Now hurry to Ripred, he will need you in the battle." Responded Miravet just as Gregor left the room.

It was a few minute walk down to highhall, though it took a little longer, with an irritating delay. He was about halfway to highhall when a voice called to him.

"Hey, warrior!" Yelled the voice as a man Gregor had never seen ran up to him; the man winced in pain as he stopped running.

"It is an honor to meet you, savior of the underland." Said the man.

"Nice to meet you to. . . and you are?" Asked Gregor.

"Ahh yes, how rude of me. I am Queen Luxa's beloved. I am her fiancé, Hayden." Responded Hayden. It took Almost all of Gregor's will power not to ram his sword right through the mans chest at that instant.

"Yes, it is nice to meet you Hayden." Responded Gregor as he shook the mans hand. He could tell Hayden was trying to tighten his grip to show Gregor his strength, but he just wasn't making the cut, it might have been because of his injury, but maybe because he could be a weakling.

"I will be overlooking the battle alongside of my beloved Luxa; I am not fit to fight with my injury. Luxa will be over joyed to see me once more, it has been a long time since I last saw her." Said Hayden.

Gregor literally couldn't hold back. He was about to hit Hayden in the gut, but thankfully Ripred came around the corner just in time to distract the two. Gregor could have sworn that Hayden had just been so obsessed with Luxa just to piss Gregor off.

"There you are Gregor. I was wondering what was taking you so long, now get over here. Hayden, go scurry back to what ever hole you came from." Said Ripred as he quickly led Gregor away before Hayden could respond.

They walked all the way down to highhall, and both mounted fliers. Gregor got on Chronos, while Ripred got on a very large rust colored flier.

"Thanks a lot Ripred. I think if you hadn't come in I would have torn his heart out with my teeth." Said Gregor.

"I could tell. He may be blind enough to miss it, but you were tense as a rock. I overheard the entire conversation, he is way to obsessed with my bond, as well as being king. You haven't seen the king side of him yet, but it can be just as bad. If I could have, I would have let him die when he got his injury." Said Ripred.

"Gregor. Do me, and all of Regalia a favor, don't let Hayden become king. I have information to show that he is being used like a puppet by the council. They will rules Regalia through him if he becomes king." Said Ripred.

Gregor looked Ripred in the eye. He could see it, rager to rager, the importance of this.

Gregor Responded " I will Ripred, I will."

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** So what did you guys think? I think it is a HUGE improvement, just it ind of feels like it fell apart at the end, but oh well, it still works. I managed to Introduce Hayden into the story, that's good. I really wonder how long Gregor will go before he can't take it and kills Hayden. Actually, that was a lie, I don't wonder. I already know what happens with Hayden and the whole Luxa marriage thing. You guys will love that part, it is hilarious on some degree, how everything goes down. Such simple things happen, yet so much occurs as a result. Just stick around and you guys will see. So, my story should be going strong again, and I'm going to continue it like normal now. I really do have to say, this chapter was really hard to do, and the next will be as well. It's just hard to make it to my liking. As usual, all feedback is encouraged and appreciated, so give me any and all thoughts on the chapter! See you guys later!**

**See you peeps later,**

**-Tytonic**

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**Question: How will Luxa react to seeing Hayden again?**

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***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

**Tytonic- so, how did you guys like that chapter?**

**Luxa- It was great! For the most part.**

**Gregor- I swear I am going to tear out his throat.**

**Tytonic- No, we need Hayden later in the story. **

**Luxa- Wait, you met Hayden?!**

**Gregor- Yes, I did, and he would not stop talking about ho you and him are so deeply in love and how he will marry you and become king.**

**Luxa- If I end up marrying him, I will be miserable. Don't be surprised is my 'beloved' husband gets assassinated.**

**Tytonic- Nope, my choice not yours!**

***Gregor and Luxa both grumble to themselves***

**Tytonic- Well, I will let you guys talk this over, see you later!**

***No response***

**Tytonic- Fine be all negative then.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

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**See ya'll later,**

**-Tytonic**


	21. Chapter 21: She Never Said Yes

** Hey guys! Welcome back to this story of epic proportion! So, I know a lot of you probably expected me to update yesterday, but I think I'm gonna try to stick to a schedule. I'm gonna try to update every 3 days, which means I will skip 2 days in between chapters. The main purpose of this so I don't rush the story. I don't want to write a chapter, and then decide I don't like it after I have written more chapters. I need to give each chapter some time to sink in a little, and once I think it's good, then I will continue. Plus I'm lazy, and don't feel like updating every other day; don't want to have this story take up my entire life. It already takes up a huge portion of my life, and most of you don't know that each chapter takes 5-8 hours to write. (You know what? Let's time how long this takes! It is currently 4:20 PM. I will tell you guys what time it is when I finish.) That's 20 chapters, plus two of them were completely re-written. So that is about. . . 100-160 hours of my like taken up by this story so far. That's is about 4-7 days worth of time. That is a LOT of time, and don't even get me started on the amount of time I spend reading. So, onto more casual topics, my birthday is on Saturday! My party is also on saturday, and my aunt is taking me somewhere on sunday, so don't expect another chapter until at least Monday. I already know what I'm getting for my birthday too! Since my parents are clueless when it comes to video games, they had to take me to the store to pick it out. It's the turtle beach XO Seven wireless headset. It's a whopping $160 (I understand some of you don't know how much that is, but I don't know the euros conversion)! I'm also getting Titanfall, which I already know is awesome (I played the beta non-stop). So, enough of my endless rambling, and onto the story! So, I guess I will see you guys after the chapter!**

**-Tytonic**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own any of The Underland Chronicles, only the characters I make up and the plot itself.**

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**Gregor and the War of the Myriapods**

**Chapter 21: She Never Said Yes**

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"Gregor. Do me, and all of Regalia a favor; don't let Hayden become king. I have information to show that he is being used like a puppet by the council. They will rule Regalia through him, if he becomes king." Said Ripred.

Gregor looked Ripred in the eye. He could see it, rager to rager, the importance of this.

Gregor Responded "I won't Ripred, I won't."

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**-O-**

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Gregor's mind didn't register what he had just agreed to at first. He heard the words 'don't let Hayden' and instantly agreed. Only know was the weight of what he agreed to finally coming down on him. Except, it wasn't a bad type of weight, it was a determined type. He would stop Hayden from marrying Luxa. Not only because he loved her, but for the good of Regalia, for the good of the entire underland.

Gregor knew he wouldn't be able to kill Hayden. Well, he would be able to, but it would only get himself killed. He needed to find a way to keep Hayden from marrying Luxa. Something that would prevent it, such as a crime he committed. If you have committed any crime, ever, you cannot become king.

Gregor's train of thought was interrupted when Chronos finally landed on the wall. Gregor slid off of Chronos's back.

"Chronos, go help were ever you are needed, just be alert, I may need to call you at a moments notice." Said Gregor. Chronos nodded in response, and quickly flew off. Gregor could see that Ripred finally managed to flop off of the big flier.

"Uhh, I don't know how you guys do it. How you can get off of those things so easily?" Asked Rirped, irritated.

"It isn't hard, Rirped. Maybe your just getting to old for this stuff." Responded Gregor.

"I won't lie, I'm getting old, but don't think for a second that I'm turning weak!" Snarled Ripred right in Gregor's face.

"I didn't say that you were getting weak, though that could be why I keep beating you up, I was just saying that your not as flexible as young Ripred was." Replied Gregor, a little grossed out by the way Ripred's drool was dripping on his shoe.

"Oh you little bra-" Snarled Rirped, before being cut off by Luxa.

"Girls, girls, your both pretty, now come on, we have things to discuss." Said Luxa.

"You have been spending way to much time with Ripred, Luxa. He's really starting to rub off on you." Replied Gregor.

"I have no clue what you speak of." Responded Luxa in a very snide tone.

"Like I said, to much time with Ripred. Now what did we need to talk about?" Asked Gregor.

"Specific ways to fight the slasher. Xano got here about 10 minutes ago, we have been waiting for you two. Now come, he is over here." Said Luxa.

Luxa proceeded to drag both of the pretty little girls over to were Xano was waiting. He was ordering fixes in the defenses, so they would hold up as best as possible against slashers. It took him a few moments to notice them, as he was looking over part of the wall on the right.

"Yes, here you are. There are a few things I must inform you two of. The slashers, as you know, are highly venomous. There venom, if inside of you, will kill you. It will take about 10 seconds before it drains your light, all the time accompanied by a painful burning sensation. I must advise you, if you need to choose between, say taking a slasher tail through the stomach, or getting cut by one of their fangs, take the tail through the stomach. It will be very difficult to avoid their fangs, but it is vital. I don't have to worry about this, myriapods have a natural immunity to this poison. The slashers, as you know, are around ten to 15 feet long. This means that they cannot attack as fast as, say the cutters would, though they make up for this in skill and deadliness." Informed Xano.

"Yeah. . . so how much of a chance do you think we really have at holding Regalia?" Asked Gregor.

"It is difficult to say, though I would venture to say that if either you, me, or Ripred fall, the humans will have little to chance of survival. They have only 500-600 in this specific attack, correct?" Asked Xano.

"Only? 500-600 is an entire army! The Regalian army is around 650 strong! They just about match our numbers!" Explained Luxa.

"Yes, only. They are just testing our strength with this attack. If we manage to survives this attack, we will be severely crippled. In that case, they will send more slashers, many many more. I would assume that they would send around a thousand more. If we survive this attack, we will have to make all haste in completing the quest, assassinating the slasher king. Remember, they have many soldiers to spare. Thousands upon thousands upon tens of thousands. If you recall what I said during our 'discussion', we have absolutely no hope if we face their entire army head on. I know you still do not trust me enough to go on this quest, but I hope participating in this upcoming battle may help gain your trust, for your own sake." Said Xano.

"I will decide who and who is not to be trusted. Until you gain my trust, we will be going on no such quest." Responded Luxa.

"Yes, I am aware. I respect that decision, but it only urges me to hurry in gaining your trust." Replied Xano.

Luxa completely ignored this statement, focusing more on a flier approaching. Gregor could see the dread in her eyes, and he heard her muter a curse under her breath.

"What is it Luxa?" Asked Gregor, eying the approaching flier now as well.

"It's. . . it's Hayden." Muttered Luxa, hardly audible.

"Oh, I met him earlier, just before I got here. He only shoved the fact that he is 'marrying his beloved Luxa and becoming king' down my throat. I swear I was about to slaughter him until Ripred saved me." Said Gregor.

"Just. . . Help keep me busy discussing the battle. I do not want to deal with him right now." Said Luxa.

"Can do. Ripred, get over here!" Shouted Gregor.

"What do you want, pup?" Asked Ripred.

"There's a wild Hayden inbound, and your going to help me keep Luxa to busy to talk to him." Declared Gregor.

Ripred instantly understood, and nodded in response. He began talk of battle formations and the defenses.

"So, queenie. How exactly are the troops organized behind the first line?" Asked Ripred. At this point Hayden was moments from landing.

"They will be spread out widely, having about three feet space between each soldier, as oppose to the normal one foot space. This will allow each soldier to have more space to fight in. The slashers are large, so this will also greatly limit their space to move in, and it will allow more then one soldier to attack each slasher at once, thus surrounding them." Replied Luxa. Hayden had just landed about 10 feet away, and was making his way over to Luxa, who was looking over the battlefield along with Ripred and Gregor.

"Clever. What about the torches? We know that the slashers do not like fire, so the way we scatter the battlefield in them can also assist us greatly." Asked Gregor.

Hayden had just arrived at the trio, and was now starting to talk.

"Hello, my dear. It has been a long time." Said Hayden. Luxa talked right over him, responding to Gregor.

"Yes, we are scattering the battlefield in more torches then usual, so no soldier will be left without light. Along side that, each soldier with an available are will be holding a torch along side their weapon. Some soldiers are even coating their weapons in oil, and are going to light them at the beginning of battle." Responded Luxa.

"They are? How have I never thought of that? Before I go out, remind me to coat Nightfall and Midnight in oil." Said Gregor.

"Luxa dear? Hello? It's me, Hayden." Persisted Hayden. Ripred did not hesitate to talk right over him again.

"What about the issue with the slashers climbing the walls and the roof?" Asked Ripred.

"Hello? Can you guys even hear me? Whats this, a tactical conversation, without me?" Asked Hayden, still getting annoyed.

"We have coated a section of the wall and roof in a mixture of oil and some stuff from the jungle. We do not have very much of it, and the ring around the cavern is only about a foot thick, but we have drenched about a ten foot span of the ground in oil. When the slashers arrive, we will light the oil, and it will keep the slashers at bay for a while longer while we finish the final parts of our defense. Any that manage to get past the fire on the walls or room will be picked off by archers. We have only ten archers ready, but they have the best bows and arrows we could get them." Answered Luxa.

"Warrior? Ripred? Luxa? Anybody? Hello!" Shouted Hayden, ignored once more.

"What about the walls? What type of defense do we have set up for them? I know the slashers can climb the walls like nothing." Asked Gregor.

"They are drenching the front of the walls in oil, and around 5 feet of the ground in front of them as we speak. If we are forced to retreat we will light the oil. This will also halt the slashers in their advance on Regalia." Responded Luxa. Her eye started twitching in annoyance as Hayden continued to try to get their attention.

"Why are you guys ignoring me!?" Yelled Hayden. Ripred talked right over him again.

"So how many troops are we putting in? The rats will arrive around an hour or two after the battle has begun. It will turn the tides on the slashers." Said Ripred.

"We have around 650 soldiers in the army, but we cannot put them all in battle. We are putting 550 soldiers in, the rest are left on the inner walls protecting the city." Responded Luxa.

"Luxa, my love?" Asked Hayden as he grabbed her shoulder and turned her around.

An ear-splitting crack ran throughout the cavern, which caused every soul to look towards the source. The cracking sound was made when Luxa's hand connected with the side of Hayden's face. It left a large bright red hand print on the left side of his face. Hayden looked absolutely shocked.

"You will NOT call me your love! You have never proposed to me, and I have never said yes to you! I NEVER agreed to be with you at all! We were forced together, so don't think for a second that I am marrying you for anything more then the good of Regalia!" Screamed Luxa, right in Hayden's face, pushing him away from her.

Luxa spun around and and ran to the edge of the wall, where she jumped off of the edge, being caught by Aurora, and flew away. Every single person within in view had their eyes fixated on what just transacted. They kept staring, even after Luxa left.

"What are you all looking at?! We have work to do!" Shouted Ripred as loud as he could. Everybody went busily back to work.

"She is very clever. She put up that display, showing everybody how strong she truly is, and how god of a leader she can be. She puts everything and everybody below the city, and she just showed it. It feels good to know we are in love." Said Hayden. He had Gregor's dagger at his neck in an instant.

"Listen to me, worm. How stupid can you be? She does not love you! You do anything to hurt here, and I will personally tear your throat out!" Threatened Gregor, just loud enough for Ripred and Hayden to hear.

When Gregor pulled away, a paler-than-usual Hayden stumbled back a few steps, then got very angry at Gregor's threat.

"How dare you threaten the king! I should have you executed right now! Slowly tortured to death!" Spat out Hayden. Ripred decided that it was a good moment to step in.

"You are not king. You don't have the power to have him executed, and even when, if, you become king, Luxa would not allow it!" Snarled Ripred.

"So you think it would be wise to execute me? Without me we may very well lose this war! Oh what a spectacular king you will make, kill off your people's only chance at survival!" Said Gregor, voice dripping in sarcasm.

If looks could kill, Gregor would have died a hundred times over by the look Hayden was giving him. Hayden turned around and walked away, having nothing else to say.

"Either that was really brave, or really stupid. If he goes to the council and says you threatened him, they will have you executed the moment this war is over. If he doesn't, then he will probably get his throat ripped out by the all mighty warrior, his choice. Now, you should go get Luxa. Since you left she has done this a few time, flown away and hidden. When she doesn't want to be found, she usually goes to Ares cave. Go talk to her, she needs comfort; her marriage is a very sensitive subject for her." Said Ripred.

Gregor saw the seriousness in the rats eyes. He nodded in response and ran to the edge of the wall, where he jumped off. Chronos had know he was going to go after Luxa, so he had been prepared to catch Gregor. Gregor landed squarely on the fliers back.

"To Luxa, I assume?" Asked Chronos.

"Yes, she is in Ares cave." Responded Gregor, forgetting that Chronos may not even know where that is.

"I have only been there once. My mother took me when I was younger. She said that my father had spent much of his life in the cave, when no other flier would interact with him." Replied Chronos.

The flight took a few minutes, and Gregor made sure that nobody was following them by clicking backwards. Before Gregor knew it, they were just outside of Ares cave. Gregor could already see, using echolocation, Luxa sitting on the ground, knees to her chest, and aurora with her wing around Luxa.

Gregor motioned for Chronos to stay where he was, and Chronos nodded in response. Gregor proceeded to enter the cave. He could hear soft sobs coming from where Luxa was seated. That scene must have really gotten to her, Luxa never cries, never.

Upon noticing Gregor, Aurora gave him a sympathetic look, and she unwrapped her wing around Luxa, and glided out of the cave. Gregor went over to Luxa, and sat down Next to her. She repositioned herself so she was lying her head down in his lap. Gregor stroked her hair, and wiped away her tears with his finger. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Luxa broke it.

"It's just not fair. . ." She whispered, her voice weak and barely audible.

"What's not?" He asked. They both knew that he knew, but it was just what needed to be talked about.

"Why do I have to marry him? He would *sob* not even make a good king. . ." she whispered.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"He was the least qualified of all the suitors. . . yet the council picked him. The council is corrupt, by law I do not need to wed until I am 18 *sob*, it only becomes legal at the age of 16. They are forcing me to *sob* wed him. . ." Whispered Luxa

"Don't worry Lux, I won't let that happen. I won't let them do that to you." He declared.

"I like that. . ." She answered.

"Like what?" He asked.

"What you called me. . . I like it. How you treat me. . . everybody treats me as if they are a slave, or as if I am not even a person." She whispered. "Just because I am queen, I never really had friends. Only family, such as Henry, and we both know how that ended up. It kind of kept me from having a real childhood. If I tried to make friends with any other girls, they were mean to me, because I was a princess, and they couldn't be." she whispered.

"Don't worry, Lux, that's all in the past, it doesn't matter anymore. Just don't worry, I won't let him marry you." He whispered in her ear. He could feel tears touching his leg. Luxa smiled when she heard him use her new nickname, and decided only he would be allowed to use it.

"I talked to Vikus about it, and he talked to the rest of the council about the age thing. They control Regalia, so when Vikus mentioned the rule, they said they had the power to break rules. In the case where the council breaks rules, it goes to a public trial with a jury, or, as of 4 years ago, to the grand council. The council denied that they broke any rules, as the marriage is not official yet. They have only told me that it will be during my coronation, and since they have not told anybody else, I cannot prove that I am being forced into this marriage. I just can't take all of the stress in my life." Whispered Luxa.

"You don't have to. I'll help you, just ask. Anything you need, I will help you with. You won't have to marry him, don't worry, I'll stop it." Whispered Gregor.

"How?" Asked Luxa, still barely audible.

"I have a plan. . ."

* * *

**Well that's a cliffhanger, and just to make you guys more eager to finish the story, you won't know what the plan is until it is put into action. So, it is now 9:40, that means that I spent 5 hours and 20 minutes on this chapter, and that is as of now, I still have to do the rest of the junk at the end, edit the whole thing, and post it. So I wish you all a merry Christmas, and a happy new year! (I know it's march).**

**See you guys later,**

**-Tytonic**

* * *

**Question: What do you think Gregor's plan is?**

* * *

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

***Luxa is crying into Gregor's shoulder***

**Tytonic- Is this a bad time?**

***Gregor motions Tytonic away***

***Tytonic leaves room, and can hear sobs through the door***

**Tytonic- Yep, defiantly a bad time. . . good thing I have my iPad with me, I can send them back.**

***CLICKCLICKCLICK***

***POOF***

* * *

**See ya'll later,**

**-Tytonic**


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